EU launches Blending Facility to support sustainable transport projects
A new call for proposals under the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Blending Facility has recently been launched by the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA).
Under the Blending Facility, €198 million in grants has been made available to promote the participation of private sector investors and financial institutions in projects contributing to the environmental sustainability and efficiency of transport in Europe.
The Blending Operations are a combination of grants and/or financial instruments from the EU budget and financing from Implementing Partners (via a loan, debt, equity or any other repayable form of support).
What projects are eligible for funding?
The rolling call for proposals supports two priorities of the CEF Transport multi-annual work programme for 2014-2020, with an indicative budget of €99 million each:
- Deployment of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)
- Alternative fuels for transport
This innovative blending mechanism has been devised to make sure that projects selected for grant support are bankable with a proven maturity.
Who can apply?
Two types of applicants can submit their proposal:
- One or more Member States
- With the agreement of the Member State(s) concerned, international organisations, joint undertakings, or public or private undertakings or bodies established in an EU Member State supported by financing from an Implementing Partner.
How to apply?
Project promoters must engage first with an Implementing Partner (public financial institutions), which performs an initial screening of each project to be potentially supported by financing from the Implementing Partner, in order to be included in the CEF Transport Blending Facility’s Project Pipeline.
The Implementing Partner will then engage with the project promoter to conduct the necessary appraisal to obtain the approval of the Implementing Partner’s governing bodies for the project, included in the CEF Transport Blending Facility’s Project Pipeline. The appraisal results are summarised in the Project Report and Eligibility Check List, which will become part of the application file.
In practice, each cut-off date has two deadlines: one for the Applicant (for the grant application) and a month later one for the Implementing Partner (for the application file).
The application file may only be submitted when the related financing has been approved by the Implementing Partners governing bodies.
Applicants have to submit their proposal electronically via the TENtec eSubmission module. Implementing Partners will then submit a complete application file to the Commission.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the first Implementing Partner and will be joined soon by other entities, such as national banks. The list of all Implementing Partners of the CEF Transport Blending Facility is published on the call page.
Please address all questions related to this rolling call to the INEA-CEF-transport-calls [at] ec [dot] europa [dot] eu">call helpdesk.
For more information on EU funding opportunities related to urban mobility, visit the Eltis EU funding page.
For full details on the Blending Facility:
- European Commission website
- Call's webpage
Author: Richard Adams
