BAFA EEW funding consultant: your energy efficiency grant.
The federal EEW programme co-funds measures that cut energy and resource use in your operations, from process heat to energy-management systems. We size the right module and run the application.
Federal funding for efficiency in industry
EEW (Bundesförderung für Energie- und Ressourceneffizienz in der Wirtschaft) is a BMWE programme that co-funds investments which measurably cut energy and resource consumption in companies; BAFA awards the grant, KfW the loan.
It is organised in modules, from cross-cutting technologies and process heat to energy-management systems and full process optimisation. We identify the module with the best rate for your project. See who qualifies further down. Modules, grant rates and deadlines are explained in the BAFA EEW guide.
The six EEW modules
EEW is organised into six modules. Each project is funded under the module that fits the measure, we identify the one with the best rate for your case.
Cross-cutting technologies
SMEs only: high-efficiency motors, pumps, fans and air compressors replacing existing equipment, plus heat exchangers, plant insulation and variable-speed drives.
Process heat from renewables
Solar-thermal, heat pumps and biomass plants that supply renewable process heat to your operations.
Sensors & energy-management software
Measurement, control and metering technology plus energy-management software (incl. ISO 50001 setups).
Process & plant optimisation
Basic funding for SMEs (17 plant categories, at least 15% final-energy saving) and technology-open premium funding, e.g. for waste-heat use, process changes or electrification, with a minimum GHG saving.
Transformation plan
A roadmap to greenhouse-gas neutrality for your company, drawn up by external experts; applied for at the project agency VDI/VDE-IT, not at BAFA.
Electrification of small companies
Small companies only: replace or convert fossil-fired plant with purely electric equipment, with a 33% grant.
Open to most companies, with one timing rule
EEW is broad: there's no sector restriction. What matters is a measurable saving and that you apply at the right moment. The full BAFA EEW requirements are in the guide.
Companies of any size and most sectors qualify, municipalities and their own operations do not. Module 1 and Module 4 basic funding are for SMEs only, Module 6 for small companies only.
The investment must fit one of the six modules, from cross-cutting tech to electrification.
The measure must demonstrably reduce energy or resource use (or CO₂), which we quantify for the application.
The application must be in before the measure begins, and you may only start once the grant decision is issued; even an unconditional supply contract counts as starting.
What EEW pays, by company size
EEW reimburses a share of the eligible investment. The rate depends on module and company size, and small companies receive the most. In Modules 1–4 and 6 you can choose the low-interest KfW loan 295 with a repayment subsidy instead of the BAFA grant.
| Module | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Module 1 · SMEs only | 25% | 20% | – |
| Module 2 | 60% | 50% | 40% |
| Module 2 · biomass | 40% | 30% | 20% |
| Module 3 | 45% | 35% | 25% |
| Module 4 · basic, SMEs only | 15% | 10% | – |
| Module 4 · premium | 45% | 35% | 25% |
| Module 5 | 60% | 50% | 40% |
| Module 6 · small companies only | 33% | – | – |
Funding rates under the EEW directive of 25 January 2024 and BAFA information sheet 7.4 (as of 22 April 2026). Module 4 premium: rate on the additional investment cost, on total cost 20/15/10%; decarbonisation bonus +10 or +5 percentage points; additionally capped by the CO₂ funding ceiling. Maximum grant: €200,000 in Modules 1 and 6, €20 million in Modules 2 to 4, €60,000 in Module 5 (€90,000 and +10 percentage points in an energy-efficiency network). Alternatively there is the EEW funding competition.
A grant, or a loan, your choice
Measures in Modules 1–4 and 6 can be taken as a non-repayable BAFA grant or as a low-interest KfW loan 295 with a repayment subsidy; transformation plans (Module 5) are grant-only. You choose one per measure, never both.
Non-repayable cash
A direct subsidy on the eligible investment, from about 10% to 60% depending on the module, your company size and the CO\u2082 saved. Administered by BAFA. Best when you can finance the rest yourself and want the simplest route.
Loan with repayment subsidy
A low-interest KfW loan whose technical requirements match the grant, with part of the principal forgiven as a repayment subsidy. Applied for through your own bank. Best when you want to finance the whole investment over time.
EEW funds processes and plant, not buildings, and never retroactively: apply before you start, and from 2024 begin only after the grant decision. Funded equipment must stay in service for at least three years.
What EEW funds, and what it doesn't
EEW funds the investment in efficient plant and processes, never the building envelope or its running costs.
High-efficiency motors, pumps, fans and compressors; renewable process heat; energy-management software and MSR sensing.
The external service of writing a roadmap to climate neutrality (Module 5), consulting and measurements included.
Insulation, windows and building heating belong to the BEG. Running costs and general IT (PCs, servers) are out too.
Costs committed before the grant decision, or already funded via EEG/KWKG or a KfW loan, forfeit the grant.
Cost basis and the decarbonisation bonus
Two choices quietly decide how large your grant is.
Funds the whole investment. Always the basis for Basis funding and for De-minimis Premium measures.
Funds only the extra cost of the efficient option, at a higher rate. A Module 4 Premium choice under the GBER.
+5 points on total cost, or +10 on extra cost, for external waste-heat use, electrification with renewable power, or renewable or low-carbon hydrogen.
See if your measure qualifies for EEW
Tell us about your project. A funding advisor reviews your case by hand, then either comes back with feedback or a few follow-up questions. No obligation.
- Whether EEW is the right fit
- A first read on the funding amount
- What to prepare before you apply
From first call to funding
Four steps. You stay focused on the work; we handle the funding end to end, on a fee agreed in advance.
Eligibility check
We review your project against the programme's criteria, confirm it qualifies and give you a realistic figure before you commit any time.
Application
You tell us what you are working on; we build the application, write the technical case and manage the entire submission for you.
Submission & review
We file with the responsible authority in your name and handle every query through to the funding decision.
Funding
Once approved, we prepare the required reporting so the funding is released to you, accurately documented and on time.
BAFA EEW in practice
Practical examples based on real projects we have taken through BAFA EEW, from first scoping to the funding decision. Anonymised, figures rounded.
How a manufacturing SME secured a BAFA EEW grant to replace compressed-air and motor systems with…
Read the story
How an industrial company secured a BAFA EEW grant to convert an energy-intensive process, with the…
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How a food producer secured a BAFA EEW grant to switch process heat to a large heat pump, replacing…
Read the storyIndustries we fund
We've secured German and EU funding across the innovation economy. If you're doing genuine development, your field almost certainly fits.
Why BeFunded exists
Two founders, one mission: help every innovator in Europe fund what they build.
Our mission
To make public funding genuinely accessible to everyone building something new in Europe. Across research and development, health, agriculture, energy and far beyond, billions are set aside each year to back innovation, yet too much of it never reaches the teams doing the actual work. We want to change that, so that funding lands where it belongs and keeps innovation in Europe moving forward.
From founder to founder: we have been on the client side ourselves, navigating Europe’s funding programmes first-hand, and we learned how much complexity, paperwork and uncertainty stands between a good project and the money meant to support it.
BAFA EEW questions, answered
The basics on modules, rates and timing.
Not for every module. A savings concept is mandatory only in the Module 4 premium track; for Module 1, the Module 4 basic track and Module 6, evidence such as a product data sheet, a confirmation of the final-energy saving or a photo of the existing plant is enough. Where an energy consultant is needed, we bring one in and file the application as one package.
Either, not both: EEW measures run as a BAFA grant or a subsidised KfW loan (295). Grants usually win at smaller volumes, loans at large investments. We calculate both routes.
EEW is open to companies in Germany investing in measures that cut energy or resource use. Most sectors qualify; the decisive test is a measurable saving. Municipalities and their own operations are excluded.
The EEW funding rate is 10 to 60% of eligible costs depending on module and company size, with up to €20 million grant per project. As an alternative to the fixed rates there is the EEW funding competition.
EEW has six modules: 1 cross-cutting technologies (SMEs only), 2 process heat from renewables, 3 metering and control, sensors and energy-management software, 4 optimisation of plants and processes (basic and premium funding, e.g. waste-heat use or electrification), 5 transformation plan and 6 electrification of small companies. Each project uses the best-fitting module.
Before any binding order, and you may only start once the grant decision is issued. After applying, supply and works contracts are allowed only with a condition precedent or subsequent; a mere right of withdrawal is not enough. BeFunded makes sure your timing is right.
With BeFunded, EEW consultancy costs a fixed share plus a success component, both agreed in advance. So you know before the start what the consultancy costs.
Ask us anything
Tell us about your project and we'll assess your case by hand. No prep, no obligation. Prefer to talk?