Export Initiative Environmental Protection now also funding capital components

The new 2022/2023 funding call enables the receipt of pro rata funding for hardware procurement, setup and commissioning in relation to the Export Initiative Environmental Protection (EXI). Eight projects have already received this kind of support.

The new 2022/2023 funding call enables the receipt of pro rata funding for hardware procurement, setup and commissioning in relation to the Export Initiative Environmental Protection (EXI). Eight projects have already received this kind of support.

Since 2022, EXI projects are also entitled to receive pro rata funding for hardware procurement, setup and commissioning. This can be understood to mean parts and components, machinery, pilot facilities, the expansion or adaptation of existing facilities or other infrastructure, with whose help the application of German environmental technology or environmental expertise can be trialled, tested or further developed. Examples include filters in a sewage treatment system, silo solutions involving green hydrogen and fuel cell technology or the trialling of building services aimed at reducing energy consumption.

While projects with this kind of ‘capital component’ have been funded as part of Export Initiative Environmental Protection, they have tended to be the exception to the rule. This is because the capital costs themselves were not eligible for funding and therefore had to be met by internal or third-party funding. This has changed with the 2022/2023 funding call.

Eight projects in six priority areas are currently receiving EUR 3.3 million of funding

Since the start of the year, eight projects have been funded in the priority areas of water and waste water management, circular economy, off-grid green hydrogen and fuel cell technology, sustainable transport, sustainable urban and regional development, and cross-sectional technologies – primarily in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The proportion of public funds amounts to EUR 6.4 million, of which around EUR 3.3 million cover the capital components.

Key facts on funding eligibility for capital components

Anyone wanting to submit a project idea with a capital component should note the following.

• The primary focus here should be the experimental development of prototypes, the implementation of demonstration measures as well as the trialling and validation of methods and services in an environment that is representative of real application conditions.
• The aim must be to improve methods or services to enhance environmental protection and conservation that are not yet properly established.
• Following project conclusion, those implementing the project gain ownership of the items procured and/or may transfer ownership to third parties.
• The facilities set up must be used for similar purposes after project conclusion – a subsequent purely commercial use is prohibited. Project implementers or third parties taking ownership are also responsible for any dismantling or disposal work necessary and will bear the costs of these activities.

Measures serving only the purposes of market development, establishing sales networks, product placement, or the adaptation of existing products or services to the requirements of a foreign market are not considered capital components and are therefore ineligible for funding.