BAFA EEW: funding for energy efficiency.

1. What is EEW?

The purpose of the programme and the kind of company it suits.

EEW is the central funding scheme for companies that want to optimise their energy and material flows. It is part of the federal climate strategy and is run by BAFA. It is open to all sectors but is most relevant for energy-intensive manufacturing, commercial businesses, and municipal facilities. The range is wide: from a small motor replacement to a multi-million plant modernisation. Important to note: building measures such as insulation, windows, or heating replacement are not funded here; EEW funds processes and plant, not the building envelope.

2. The modules

The thematic modules, so you can locate the measure you are planning.

The programme is organised in modules covering different kinds of measure:

• Cross-cutting technologies: purchase and installation of highly efficient electric motors, pumps, fans, and compressed-air generators that replace existing equipment.
• Process heat from renewables: switching process heat supply to renewable sources.
• Measurement, control, and energy management: sensors, control technology, and energy management software (the software must be on the official BAFA list of eligible software and integrated into an energy or environmental management system).
• Optimisation of plants and processes: technology-open, systemic measures to reduce energy, resources, and emissions. This is the broadest module and comes as a basis variant and a premium variant with a decarbonisation bonus.
• Transformation plans: support for drawing up a structured plan towards a climate-neutral production.

Separately from EEW, energy consulting for non-residential buildings runs under its own programme line.

3. Who can apply

The broad eligibility, which is one of the programme's strengths.

EEW is open to companies of all sizes and sectors with a business site in Germany, including SMEs and large companies, freelancers with a commercial activity, and municipal and church facilities. Small and medium-sized enterprises receive higher rates than large companies.

4. How much you get

How the grant is calculated and the two possible cost bases.

Funding rates run from about 10 to 60 percent, set by the module and the company size, with SME bonuses on top. For a single project, a grant of up to EUR 20 million is possible. The calculation basis differs by module: some modules fund the total investment cost (Investitionsgesamtkosten), while others fund only the additional cost compared with a conventional, less efficient standard solution (Investitionsmehrkosten). Check which basis applies to your module before estimating the grant.

5. How to apply and conditions

The strict timing rule and the obligations attached to the grant.

The application must be filed before you order the equipment or otherwise begin the measure. Signing a binding order in advance counts as an early start and leads to rejection. Applications are submitted online through the BAFA portal on the Förderzentrale Deutschland platform, which lets you save entries before submitting. Funded equipment must be operated for its intended purpose for at least three years; selling it early can trigger a pro-rata clawback of the grant.

6. Grant or loan, and combination

The choice between the BAFA grant and the KfW loan, and how EEW fits with other funding.

For the same measures you can choose between the non-repayable BAFA grant and a low-interest KfW loan with a repayment subsidy (KfW 295), whose technical minimum requirements are identical to the corresponding EEW module. EEW funds efficiency investments, not research, so it complements R&D instruments. As state aid, it is subject to the rule that the same costs cannot be double-funded and that the company must not be a "company in difficulty".

7. The six modules in detail

EEW funds processes and plant, not buildings. Each project runs under the module that fits the measure.

• Module 1 — Cross-cutting technologies. High-efficiency motors, pumps, fans and compressed-air systems that replace existing equipment (SMEs). Up to €200,000.
• Module 2 — Process heat from renewables. Solar thermal, heat pumps, geothermal and biomass plant where the heat mainly serves processes.
• Module 3 — Metering, control and energy-management software. The MSR, sensors and software that run an energy or environmental management system. Up to €20m.
• Module 4 — Energy- and resource-related optimisation. The technology-open heart of the programme, with a simpler Basis route for SMEs and a Premium route driven by CO₂ savings. Up to €20m per related project.
• Module 5 — Transformation plans. The external work of writing a roadmap to greenhouse-gas neutrality. Up to €60,000 (€90,000 with an energy-efficiency network).
• Module 6 — Electrification of micro and small enterprises. Helps the smallest firms switch fossil-fired production plant to electricity. Up to €200,000.

8. Rates, caps and the decarbonisation bonus

The grant runs from about 10% to 60% of eligible costs; smaller firms and deeper CO₂ cuts earn more.

The rate depends on the module, the company size and, in Module 4 Premium, the greenhouse-gas savings. Small enterprises receive the highest rates. Module 4 Premium pays either 20/15/10% (small/medium/large) on the total investment cost where the measure saves at least 30% of greenhouse gases, or 45/35/25% on the additional investment cost (Investitionsmehrkosten). A decarbonisation bonus adds five percentage points (on total costs) or ten (on additional costs) for external waste-heat use, electrification with renewable electricity, or green-hydrogen production and use. Caps are per module: up to €20m in Modules 3 and 4, €200,000 in Modules 1 and 6, and €60,000 (€90,000 with a network) in Module 5.

9. The timing rule and conditions

Apply before you start, and keep the equipment in service.

You must apply before the project starts; for applications from 1 January 2024 the project may only begin after the grant decision (Zuwendungsbescheid), and concluding a delivery or works contract counts as starting. Funded equipment must be operated in the company for at least three years, and an early sale triggers a pro-rata clawback. You cannot take other public aid for the same measure, and you cannot apply to both BAFA and KfW for the same measure. The programme runs until 31 December 2028, subject to available budget.

10. Common mistakes and FAQ

The errors that most often cost an EEW applicant, and quick answers.

• Ordering equipment or signing a works contract before the grant decision, which forfeits the funding.
• Applying for a building measure: EEW funds processes and plant; building-envelope work goes to the BEG.
• Applying to both BAFA and KfW, or stacking other public aid, for the same measure.
• Overlooking the Module 4 Premium routes and the decarbonisation bonus, which reward the deepest CO₂ cuts.

Grant or loan? Your choice per measure: a non-repayable BAFA grant, or a low-interest KfW loan (programme 295) with a repayment subsidy.

Who runs it? The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE); the grant is administered by BAFA, the loan by KfW.

Can it be combined with R&D funding? Not with other public aid for the same measure, but EEW (investment) and an R&D instrument on different costs can sit side by side.

11. Eligible and ineligible costs

EEW funds the investment in efficient plant and processes, and the external service of a transformation plan. It does not fund the building or the running of the plant.

Eligible are the purchase and installation of the funded technology and its directly related costs: high-efficiency motors, pumps, fans and compressed-air generators replacing existing equipment, insulation on existing plant, frequency converters and waste-heat exchangers (Module 1); renewable process-heat plant used >50% for processes (Module 2); energy-management software and metering, control and sensor technology (MSR), including connection and an external measurement concept (Module 3); the process-optimisation plant itself and the cost of preparing the Einsparkonzept (Module 4); the external transformation-plan service, measurements and optional certification (Module 5); and new electric plant replacing fossil-fired production plant (Module 6).

Ineligible are operating costs (EEW funds the investment, not its operation); the building envelope (insulation, windows, building heating belong to the BEG); anything started before the grant decision; general IT and end devices such as PCs, servers and printers under Module 3; purely additional new plant that does not replace existing equipment in Modules 1 and 4 Basis; and measures below the module minimum (EUR 10,000 for Module 4, EUR 2,000 for Module 6). Double funding is barred: no other public aid, including EEG and KWKG payments, may be claimed for the same measure, and you may not apply to both BAFA and KfW for it. Breaching the cumulation rule voids the grant and triggers repayment.

12. The cost basis: IGK vs IMK

One technical choice quietly decides how large the grant is.

The grant is calculated on one of two bases. Total investment costs (Investitionsgesamtkosten, IGK) are all the costs of the funded plant; this is always the basis for Basis funding and for De-minimis-funded Premium measures. Additional investment costs (Investitionsmehrkosten, IMK) are only the extra cost of the efficient solution compared with a less efficient reference; under the GBER, a Module 4 Premium applicant may choose to fund the IMK instead of the IGK, at a higher percentage rate. The right choice depends on the project: a low-extra-cost, high-total-cost measure usually favours the IGK basis, while a measure whose efficiency premium is a large share of the cost can be worth more on the IMK basis at the higher rate. On top of either, the decarbonisation bonus adds five percentage points on total cost, or ten on additional cost, for external waste-heat use, electrification with renewable electricity, or green-hydrogen production and use.

13. How applications are assessed

The investment modules are rules-based, not a scored competition.

An application that meets the directive's technical and eligibility conditions and is submitted before the start is examined by BAFA (or, for Module 5, VDI/VDE-IT) and funded within the available budget. The examination checks scope fit (process/plant not building, within the chosen module and its minimum requirements), eligibility (applicant type, German establishment, company size, and SME or micro/small status for the restricted modules), the efficiency or CO2 test (Module 4 Basis's at least 15% final-energy saving, Module 4 Premium's at least 30% greenhouse-gas saving by Einsparkonzept, Module 2's over-50%-process-heat condition), cost eligibility (eligible investment costs on the correct basis, within cap and above minimum, operating costs excluded), state-aid compliance (De-minimis headroom or the relevant GBER article, no prohibited cumulation), and apply-before-start. There is no competitive ranking for the investment modules: meeting the technical conditions and applying correctly, and early, is what matters.

14. Industry examples

EEW funds the efficiency of processes and plant, not a sector, so the range is broad. These are illustrative project shapes, not named beneficiaries.

• A manufacturer replacing drive technology: high-efficiency motors, pumps and compressed-air systems for old ones (Module 1, SME).
• A food producer switching to renewable process heat: a heat pump or biomass system supplying over half of process heat (Module 2).
• An energy-intensive plant building its management system: MSR, sensors and energy-management software for an ISO 50001 system (Module 3).
• A metals or plastics processor optimising a process: a technology-open Module 4 Premium project (waste-heat recovery, electrification, hydraulic optimisation) achieving at least 30% GHG savings, possibly with the bonus.
• An industrial company planning its decarbonisation: a Module 5 transformation plan mapping the route to greenhouse-gas neutrality by 2045.
• A small workshop going electric: a micro or small firm replacing a gas-fired unit with an electric one (Module 6).

See the full program page: BAFA EEW