Funding services
Energy aid
Energy aid is available for companies and organizations of all sizes to support investments and audit projects that improve energy efficiency and savings. These projects also contribute to Finland’s carbon neutrality goals.
Terms and conditions
Read the Energy Aid application instructions.
What is the funding for?
Energy aid can be granted for investment or audit projects carried out in Finland that aim to promote:
- Saving energy or improving the efficiency of energy production or use
- Renewable energy production through new technology projects
Conventional investments in renewable energy production (e.g. conventional solar power systems) are not eligible for Energy Aid funding, except for investments in biogas plants.
Energy aid can be granted to projects that would not otherwise be implemented. The main goal of the funding is to reduce the technical and financial risks associated with new technology. In particular, investments in new technology aim to have wider impacts than individual projects – such as the renewal of the energy system. The overall goal is to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency in a cost-effective way in the long term.
What is required of the project and the applicant?
- The project must not start (e.g. no binding order has been placed) before the grant decision. As a rule, aid is granted for costs incurred from the date of the funding decision at the earliest.
- The project must be a voluntary investment. The purpose of the investment must not be, for example, to achieve a mandatory environmental obligation or to carry out an energy audit that is mandatory for the company in accordance with the Energy Efficiency Act.
- The applicant must have sufficient own funding to cover the costs of the project, as the Business Finland grant will not be paid until after the final report of the project.
- The applicant must meet Business Finland's general requirements for granting funding. You can find the obstacles to granting funding here.
Energy aid is not granted for
- Housing associations
- Residential properties (including care properties)
- Farms or projects carried out in connection with them, with the exception of projects carried out on the farm where the energy produced is used outside the agricultural production activity (even in this case, the applicant cannot be a farm)
- Fishing and aquaculture enterprises, including processing enterprises
- Start-up projects receiving central government transfers
- Organisations whose activities are funded primarily by the state budget
- Agencies, institutions and other bodies belonging to the financial administration organisation referred to in the Act on the State Budget (423/1988)
- Projects related to new construction, except those involving new technology
Conditions for funding
INVESTMENT PROJECTS
What can investment project funding be used for?
What can investment project funding be used for?
Energy aid can be applied for investment projects that invest in fixed assets. Energy aid can be granted to projects that promote new technology, its commercial utilisation and the ability to regulate the electricity system, as well as energy savings by means of energy efficiency.
New technologies are prioritized
In the granting of energy aid, priority is given to projects with new technology. New technology refers to new kinds of solutions that have not been used in Finland before and are central to energy and climate goals. Typically, this is the first commercial implementation. The introduction of new technology usually involves additional costs or risks compared to a similar conventional technology project. In new technology projects, the applicant may be asked to provide an impartial statement on the novelty value of the project.
Increased aid for new technology can be granted on a case-by-case basis. The need for and level of increased aid will be assessed and the assessment will take into account the risk posed by the introduction of new technology and the related profitability analysis. As a result, the aid for a new technology project is often lower than the maximum aid mentioned in the Energy Aid Decree in the aid decision. For SMEs, the maximum aid intensity is 40% for new technology projects. For large companies, the corresponding maximum aid intensity is 30%.
Investments in renewable energy and biogas plants
In renewable energy investments, exceptions to the requirement for new technology are investments in biogas plants, which can also be funded when conventional technology is used. In this case, too, priority will be given to biogas plant investments that include new technology and investments that produce biogas for transport use.
- In addition, priority will be given to biogas plant investments with a concrete and feasible plan for the further processing and use of digestate waste. In all biogas projects, the applicant must submit a plan for the further processing and use of digestate. The plan must present the justifications for the chosen method of further processing and use of the digestate and the status of the preparation of the related agreements. In addition, it must be presented how nutrient recycling is taken into account in the chosen further processing and use method and how the method of further processing and use of digestate can be developed at the plant in the future.
- Investments in the refining, liquefaction, transmission, distribution or use of biogas will only be funded if there is an investment in new reactor capacity at the same time. Aid can only be granted for investments in the expansion of existing biogas plants if the reactor and biogas production capacity increases.
- In the case of biogas projects, refuelling stations are not funded (this also applies to other biofuels).
- In biofuel projects, aid can only be granted to plant projects that do not use timber or pulpwood suitable for processing as raw material.
Other renewable energy projects will only be funded for new technologies. Investments in the production of renewable hydrogen can be funded if the hydrogen ends up in energy production or in the production of fuel refined from it.
Investments that promote energy saving and energy efficiency
- Typical investments to be funded are related to the utilisation of waste heat from industrial processes.
- Energy efficiency projects related to buildings and their conventional building technology are not funded.
- In energy efficiency investments, heat pumps over 1 MW can be funded if the project is a new technology project or a project connected to a low-heat network. In the case of the use of surplus heat as an energy source for a heat pump, heat pumps up to the size of 5 MW can be funded in conventional technology projects. In the case of new technology, it is also possible to fund more than 5 MW heat pump projects.
- Heat storage facilities can be funded on the basis of new technology. Solutions based on conventional technology that store heat in water or geothermal heat storage facilities are not funded.
- Flue gas scrubbers or related heat recovery investments are not funded if they are related to emissions trading plants or heating plants with a capacity of more than 10 MW.
- Conventional technology projects related to lighting (incl. e.g. LED luminaires) are not funded.
- Projects related to building insulation or changes to the exterior (envelope) (including doors, windows), doors or covers of refrigeration equipment and equipment, weather protection or rain covers, or other similar solutions are not funded.
- Data center waste heat projects are not funded.
- Energy efficiency projects in new construction sites are not funded (except for new technology).
- See Motiva's energy efficiency and ESCO services and Energy efficiency agreements 2026–2035.
- For ESCO services, a minimum savings guarantee of 50% is required, and the share of verifiable savings in the total savings during the verification period is at least 80% in euros.
- Aid can also be granted to companies and municipalities outside the energy efficiency agreements if the project includes new technology.
Investment project size and amount of aid
Investment project size and amount of aid
Renewable energy investments
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The investment costs of a renewable energy project must be a minimum of EUR 30,000 and a maximum of EUR 5,000,000.
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For renewable energy projects, the level of aid is typically 15–30% based on project-specific consideration.
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For large companies, the maximum aid level is 30% also for new technology projects.
Amount of energy aid for the energy efficiency project
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The aid percentage is 20% for companies and communities that have joined energy efficiency agreements.
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The aid percentage is 25% when the ESCO service is used in the above.
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The aid percentage is 15% for companies and organisations that have not joined energy efficiency agreements when using the ESCO service.
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The investment costs of the project must be at least EUR 10,000 and at most EUR 5,000,000.
Eligible costs of an investment project
Eligible costs of an investment project
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Costs of acquisition, installation and commissioning of machinery and equipment
- Cost of buildings (only for applications for large demonstration projects of New Energy Technology)
- Civil engineering, supervision and connection fees
- Earthworks and land acquisition
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Preparation and planning costs
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Specific costs of monitoring (ESCO)
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Possible costs of the auditor's audit report
Costs that are not eligible for an investment project
Costs that are not eligible for an investment project
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Salary and indirect personnel costs
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Travel costs of the beneficiary
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Overheads
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Entertainment expenses
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Banking and Financing Costs
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Voluntary personal insurance
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Costs that are subject to public funding whose terms prohibit other public funding (e.g. the salary costs of a person who received a start-up grant for the same period)
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Wage costs for which a pay subsidy has been received
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Services containing other public funding
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Any financing, administration, insurance, repair, maintenance, or equivalent expenditures arising from acquisitions under the terms of a leasing or installment sale
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Acquisition costs of office equipment, automobiles and other similar durable goods
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Costs not included in the implementation of the project
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Cost provisions
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Connection fees and fees based on the Act on Criteria for Charges Payable to the State (150/1992)
ENERGY AUDIT AND INVESTIGATIVE AUDIT PROJECTS
What can energy audit and investigative audit project funding be used for?
What can energy audit and investigative audit project funding be used for?
The eligible energy audit activities have been carefully instructed. The guidelines are based on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment's annually confirmed guidelines, which present instructions and requirements related to the implementation and reporting of energy audits, the amount of audit aid and how to apply for audit aid.
The models for audits and surveys to be funded are the property's energy audit, the property's energy audit, the industrial energy audit, the industrial energy analysis and the targeted audit, and the in-depth investigation.
The energy audit and the property's energy review review the current situation of the site's energy and water use and look for saving measures with justifications, savings effects and payback periods. Organisations (e.g. municipalities, parishes and foundations) and companies consuming less than 2,700 MWh/a of energy are eligible for energy audit aid.
In a targeted audit, the desired areas of the site's energy use can be reviewed. Targeted audit aid is available to companies that consume less than 2,700 MWh/a of energy and are included in the energy efficiency agreement, as well as municipalities that are members of the energy efficiency agreement. Municipalities can only carry out targeted audits in connection with the implementation of traditional Motiva-style property audits, in which case the share of targeted audits can be a maximum of 50% of the total number of audits.
With the help of an in-depth investigation, an organisation can investigate how to improve the efficiency of its energy use, increase the share of renewable energy use or otherwise make the company's energy use low-carbon. In-depth investigation aid is possible for companies that have joined the energy efficiency agreement and whose annual energy consumption exceeds 2700 megawatt hours. Municipalities and joint municipal authorities that have joined the public sector energy efficiency agreement are also eligible.
More detailed descriptions and instructions can be found on Motiva's website.
Amount of Energy aid for energy audit and investigative audit projects
Amount of Energy aid for energy audit and investigative audit projects
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Motiva-type energy audits of energy efficiency agreements (aid level 50%)
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Motiva-type energy audits of non-energy efficiency agreements (aid level 40%)
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Motiva's targeted review, aid percentages as above
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In-depth investigations (aid level 40%)
The maximum eligible costs of audits are defined in the general guidelines of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Aid is not granted to projects that have been launched (e.g. by placing an order related to the project) before the grant decision is made.
Eligible costs for an energy audit or investigative audit project
Eligible costs for an energy audit or investigative audit project
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Declared salaries allocated to the project in accordance with the monitoring of working hours
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Indirect personnel costs
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Travel expenses
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Supplies and equipment and machinery rentals
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Purchased services
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Possible costs of the auditor's audit report
Costs that are not eligible for an energy audit or investigative audit project
Costs that are not eligible for an energy audit or investigative audit project
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Overheads
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Entertainment expenses
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Banking and Financing Costs
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Voluntary personal insurance
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Costs that are subject to public funding whose terms prohibit other public funding (e.g. the salary costs of a person who received a start-up grant for the same period)
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Wage costs for which a pay subsidy has been received
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Services containing other public funding
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Any financing, administration, insurance, repair, maintenance, or equivalent expenditures arising from acquisitions under the terms of a leasing or installment sale
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Acquisition costs of office equipment, automobiles and other similar durable goods
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Costs not included in the implementation of the project
The process of applying for funding
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Contact us
Jussi
Mäkelä
Product Manager, Energy Aid
Timo
Fager
Advisor
Satu
Kuusela
Advisor
Tapani
Saarenpää
Advisor