ELENA – European Local ENergy Assistance

Who is eligible

Public sector

EU Member States
Government organisations
Regional, local and municipal authorities
Public corporations
Financial institutions

Private sector

Private entities planning to develop and support eligible investments (associations, mixed public/private, banks etc.)
Other private associations (social housing associations or homeowner associations).

ELENA technical assistance projects should not be profit making.

Who is eligible

Activities eligible for ELENA grants include:

technical studies, energy audits
business plans and financial advisory
legal advice

tendering procedure preparation
project bundling
project management

Three envelopes

ELENA provides support to three different sectors and for that purpose, three different envelopes were developed:

Energy efficiency

ELENA supports the preparation of projects that improve energy efficiency and renewable energy use in buildings. Eligible projects include:

energy efficiency in residential and non-residential buildings
building-integrated renewables (such as solar panels)
public lighting
district heating (including combined heat and power plants and biomass boilers)
smart grids

Sustainable residential

We help private individuals and homeowner associations prepare and implement energy efficiency renovations and renewable energy projects for residential buildings. Projects include:

Single family buildings;
Multi-family buildings;
Social housing.

Urban transport and mobility

We also support innovative transport and mobility projects in urban areas that save energy and reduce emissions. Eligible projects include:

Investments to support the use and integration of innovative solutions that promote alternative fuels in urban mobility, such as vehicles and refuelling infrastructure.
Investments to promote the wide-scale rollout of new, more energy-efficient transport, which in urban areas can take many forms, such as shared mobility, urban logistics, intelligent transport systems, urban infrastructure (including investments in soft mobility, or mobility that does not involve motorised transport.)

Investment programme size

Typically, ELENA supports investment programmes above €30 million with a three-year implementation period for energy efficiency (residential projects included) and four-year period for urban transport and mobility. ELENA encourages and supports the aggregation of different projects to increase the attractiveness for contractors and financers.

How to apply?

To submit an initial proposal for funding, contact us directly by email at elena@eib.org and use the pre-application form.
If your project meets the eligibility criteria and is selected for full appraisal, the ELENA team will support you during the next steps of the application process, during which you need to complete one of the following application forms:

ELENA application form for energy and residential projects
ELENA application form for mobility projects
And the declaration by the applicant.
By submitting the declaration you agree to ELENA’s Privacy Policy

The European Commission will provide the final approval based on our assessment.

More information about ELENA and its eligibility criteria are also available in our FAQ.

Projects that have received grants

The summary of each ELENA project is available under our ongoing and completed projects lists.

Ongoing projects

A list of factsheets of ongoing ELENA projects including project description and contact details

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Completed projects

A list of factsheets of completed ELENA projects, including project description, lessons learnt and contact details

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ELENA on the map

The interactive map shows you the most relevant ELENA projects in Europe.

See the map

Highlights

Discover how ELENA helps public authorities and private entities implement energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transport projects.

7 March 2018 Chris Knight

How to make an old castle on a hill cozy and warm

Ljubljana’s public buildings were cold, leaky and expensive to heat. The ELENA programme financed a Slovenia energy efficiency makeover.

23 March 2018 Chris Knight

Tipperary cleans up the dust and creates low-energy superhomes

Many Irish residences are heated with dirty coal fireplaces. The ELENA programme brings Tipperary energy efficiency and clean homes

5 May 2017 Fatima Benabdelaziz-Tair

Energy efficiency: Trams gain traction in Denmark

Aarhus becomes the first Danish city to boast a tram system that provides increased mobility and saves emissions.

About ELENA

ELENA is a joint initiative by the European Investment Bank and the European Commission under InvestEU. A team of experts, consisting of engineers and economists with extensive experience in the energy and transport sectors, lead the ELENA facility. Established in 2009, the ELENA facility has awarded more than €296 million of EU support, mobilising an estimated investment of around €9.5 billion (as of end 2023).