European Commission approves €1.7bn for Spanish storage and Czech low-carbon tech
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The European Commission has approved €1.659 billion ($1.8 billion) in investment schemes for Spain and the Czech Republic; the former will see investments into energy storage facilities and the latter to boost production of strategic low-carbon equipment.
In both cases, the investments were approved under the Commission’s State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), adopted back in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis.
In Spain, €699 million ($758.3 million) will support investments in energy storage facilities to promote the integration of variable renewable energy sources into the Spanish electricity system.
Under the scheme, the aid, partially financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), will support the construction of 1,800MWh of new electricity storage capacities.
The measure will be open to all storage technologies.
A day following the announcement for Spain, the Commission also approved a €960 million ($1 billion) Czech scheme to support investments in strategic sectors to foster the transition to a net-zero economy.
The scheme will support investments to produce strategic equipment, namely batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, heat-pumps, electrolysers and carbon capture usage and storage, as well as key components designed and primarily used as direct input for the production of such equipment or related critical raw materials necessary for their production.
The measures will be open to undertakings of all sizes.
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According to the European Commission, both schemes fall in line with the priorities of the European Commission for 2024-2029, based on their Political Guidelines, which call for investments in clean energy and technologies. In the case of the Czech Republic, the scheme also contributes to the achievement of the Clean Industrial Deal.
In both cases, the investments will take the form of direct grants, up until 31 December 2025.
The TCTF
The TCTF Framework was adopted in March 2023, to support measures in sectors key for the transition to a net-zero economy.
The TCTF provides for the following types of aid, which can be granted by member states until 31 December 2025 to accelerate the green transition:
• Measures accelerating the rollout of renewable energy (section 2.5).
Member states can set up schemes for investments in all renewable energy sources, with simplified tender procedures.
• Measures facilitating the decarbonisation of industrial processes (section 2.6).
Member states can support investments in the decarbonisation of industrial activities with a view to reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels, in particular through electrification, energy efficiency and the switch to the use of renewable and electricity-based hydrogen.
• Measures to further accelerate investments in key sectors for the transition towards a net-zero economy (section 2.8).
Member states can grant investment support for the manufacturing of strategic equipment, namely batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, heat-pumps, electrolysers and carbon capture usage and storage, as well as for production of key components and for production and recycling of related critical raw materials.
Support is capped at a certain percentage of the investment costs up to specific amounts, depending on the location of the investment and the size of the beneficiary.
Higher support is possible for small and medium-sized companies, as well as companies located in disadvantaged regions to ensure that cohesion objectives are duly taken into account.
In exceptional cases, member states may provide higher support to individual companies, where there is a real risk of investments being diverted away from Europe, subject to a number of safeguards.
Commenting in a release was Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition:
“This scheme will accelerate the transition to a greener economy through the support of key investments, while ensuring that any potential competition distortions are kept to the minimum.”
