The Basque Government launches, as of 19 May, a new aid programme aimed at boosting energy efficiency in the industrial sector, with the aim of boosting energy efficiency, energy saving and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in production processes.

With an overall allocation of 52 million euros, this programme is aimed at companies in the industrial sector that undertake investments aimed at improving the efficiency of their production systems and processes, thus strengthening their competitiveness in a context marked by the volatility of energy prices.

The programme, which has the largest annual budget allocation for industrial energy efficiency, is supported by institutional collaboration, with EUR 26 million coming from the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). With this, the Basque Government reinforces its commitment to energy autonomy and the transformation towards a more efficient, sustainable industrial model.

This aid is part of the strategic axis “Less Emissions” of the Industry Plan – Euskadi 2030 and reinforces the Basque Government’s commitment to decarbonization and the improvement of industrial competitiveness. Energy efficiency makes it possible to significantly reduce energy consumption and, therefore, electricity and gas bills, one of the main factors that determines the ability of companies to compete in international markets.

Thanks to this new program, the Basque Country is at the level of the leading European countries in industrial energy efficiency, above economies such as Germany, France or Italy, consolidating a sustained trajectory during decades of public policies aimed at saving and efficient use of energy.

Features of the program

It is estimated that this programme will be able to support close to 200 industrial projects, which will mobilise investments in excess of EUR 195 million. All the actions will generate an estimated energy saving of 830 GWh per year, which is equivalent to a reduction of 4.2% of the total energy consumption of the Basque industry

This effort to support the industry is therefore a significant step towards meeting the Basque Government’s target of reducing final energy consumption by at least 12% by 2030. In this sense, the Basque Country has already managed to reduce its energy consumption by 5.4% compared to 2021, with the industrial sector —with almost 50% of total consumption— having contributed the most to this accumulated savings.

The aid may reach a maximum of 4 million euros per action and industrial group. The intensity of the grant will range from 15% to 30% of the investment made, depending on the characteristics of the project, increasing in those cases in which the actions are combined with renewable energies. This orientation reinforces the program’s comprehensive approach, which combines efficiency, savings and deployment of sustainable energy sources.

As a differential element with respect to previous editions, the program will be developed under the system of successive concurrence, so that the requests will be met in order of arrival, provided they are correctly completed, until the exhaustion of the available funds. The programme will run from 19 May to 30 June 2027 and all information on this support can be found on the EVE website www.eve.eus

With this initiative, the Basque Government consolidates the position of the Basque Country as a European reference in industrial energy efficiency, while making progress in meeting the objectives of reducing final energy consumption and decarbonization, reinforcing the competitiveness and sustainability of its industrial base.