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Energy efficiency, corporate environmental protection and renewable energies
Particularly in difficult economic times, energy efficiency can make an important contribution to reducing the fixed costs of an enterprise. In order for small and medium-sized enterprises to be able to sustain such investments too, we give particular support to SMEs in the form of low interest rates for loans. In addition, KfW is financing the development of renewable energies, such as electricity and heat from the ground, sun, wind and water.
For whom?
For investments in Germany
- Commercial German and non-German enterprises in which the majority of shares are privately owned
- Municipal enterprises
- Self-employed professionals and sole proprietors
For investments in the EU
- Commercial enterprises, self-employed professionals and sole proprietors based in Germany and German enterprises, their foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures with high German participation
For what?
For investment in measures to reduce, prevent and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Up to 100% of the investment costs eligible for financing, up to 25 million Euro per project.
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Low-interest loans up to 20 years
- Disbursement 100%
- Climate Grant up to 6%
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- German and non-German enterprises, joint ventures
- Self-employed professionals
- Enterprises under an energy contracting
- Cooperation and operator models (PPP)
For what?
For investments in and outside Germany that contribute to substantially improving the environmental situation.
What kind of promotional funds are available?
- Loans to finance investments in general environmental protection measures, usually up to EUR 10 million per project
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Up to 3 repayment-free start-up years
- Disbursement 100%
- Particularly favourable interest rates for small enterprises
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- German and non-German enterprises
- Self-employed professionals
- Enterprises under an energy contracting
wanting to invest in Germany; without any regulation in the amount of turnover
- In addition, for self-employed professionals, German enterprises, their foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures with high German participation
wanting to invest outside Germany
For what?
For investments in and outside Germany that achieve substantial energy-saving effects.
Replacement investments must lead to energy end-use saving s of at least 10% on the basis of the average consumption of the previous 3 years.
New investments must achieve energy savings of at least 10% compared with the industry average.
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Loans to finance investments in energy efficiency measures, up to 25 million Euro per project
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Promotional funding starts from energy-saving of 10%
- Disbursement 100%
- Favourable interest rates
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- German and non-German enterprises and contractors
- Municipal enterprises
- Self-employed professionals
with a production site or a branch in Germany.
For what?
We finance investments for a significant improvement of energy efficiency.
- Cross-section technologies
- Process heat supply from renewable energies
- Measurement and control technology, sensor technology and energy management software
- Energy-related optimization of plants and processes.
What kind of promotional funds are available?
- Loan up to EUR 25 million
- Repayment grant up to 55 %.
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Low interest rates
- Repayment grant
- Financing up to 100 % of costs.
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- German and non-German enterprises, joint ventures
- Self-employed professionals
- Enterprises under an energy contracting
For what?
- Energy-efficient refurbishment of commercial-used non-residential buildings
We promote the refurbishment of buildings if after refurbishment they do not exceed a specific energy requirement for a comparable new building. KfW has defined different levels of support for a “KfW Efficiency House”.
- KfW Efficiency House 70
- KfW Efficiency House 100
- KfW Efficiency House Monument
- Individual measures to improve the energy efficiency
- New constructions
- KfW Efficiency House 55
- KfW Efficiency House 70
- Prearrangement, realisation and implementing, such as back-work, planning costs, energy management systems
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Loans to finance investments in energy efficiency measures, usually 25 million Euro per project
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Favourable interest rates
- Disbursement 100%
- Up to 17,5% repayment bonus calculated on the loan amount
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- German and non-German enterprises and other natural persons and legal entities under private law, enterprises in which municipalities are the majority shareholders
- Local and municipal authorities, companies owned and operated by municipal authorities, municipal special-purpose associations
- Other special-purpose associations or institutions incorporated under public law
For what?
For the financing of major industrial projects that demonstrate for the first time in what ways advanced technological procedures and combinations of procedures can be put to use to reduce environmental pollution and ecologically sound products can be manufactured and employed.
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Up to 70% of the financeable costs, no maximum amount
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Long-term financing at an attractive interest rate
- Interest grant from the BMUB to the KfW loan
- In exceptional cases, investment grant of up to 30% of the financeable costs
- Disbursement 100%
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- Private individuals and not-for-profit organisations which feed the generated electricity/heat into the grid, at least in part
- Self-employed professionals, farmers
- German and non-German enterprises majority-owned by private or municipal individuals
For what?
For plants in which power or heat is generated from renewable energies
- Electricity from solar energy (photovoltaics), biomass, wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy
- Electricity and heat from renewable energies, generated in combined heat and power stations
- Grids, heat store
Also for investments outside Germany
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Up to 100% of the investment costs eligible for financing, up to EUR 50 million
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- low-interest loans up to 20 years
- loan amount up to EUR 50 million
- eligible for major enterprises
Loan application
with your bank
For whom?
- Private individuals and not-for-profit organisations which use the generated heat exclusively for their own needs
- Self-employed professionals
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Enterprises that are majority-owned by municipalities and that do not meet the SME threshold values for turnover and number of employees
- Large enterprises only if their solar thermal, deep geothermal, heat storage and heating network measures are particularly deserving of support
- Municipalities, municipally owned enterprises and municipal special-purpose associations
- Energy service providers
For what?
For large plants in which heat is generated from renewable energies
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Up to 100% of the financeable costs of investment, not more than EUR 25 million
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Long-term, low-interest loans
- Repayment-free start-up period
- Particularly favourable interest rates for small enterprises
- Attractive repayment bonuses
Loan application
with your bank
Municipalities, municipally owned enterprises and special-purpose associations file the application directly with KfW
For whom?
The Offshore Wind Energy Programme focuses on project finance transactions
For what?
The construction of offshore wind farms in the German exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or the 12-mile coastal zone in the North and Baltic Sea
What kind of promotional funds are available?
Two different term loan options (A/B) which can both be combined with a cost overrun loan (C):
- A – Up to EUR 400 million and max. 50% of total project debt
direct loan as part of a banking consortium (max. KfW loan amount up to the amount provided by commercial banks) - B – Up to EUR 700 million and max. of 70% of total project debt
financing package composed of a loan from KfW on-lent through a bank and a direct loan from KfW - C – Up to EUR 100 million and max. of 50% of total cost overrun loan
a direct loan under banking consortia to finance unforeseen cost overruns
What makes this KfW loan so special?
- Financing of high loan volumes up to a term of 20 years
- For project companies with no limits on investor background
- Focus on commercial bankability
Loan application
Filed by one of the commercial banks with KfW, no particular form required
Information Sheet on KfW Offshore Wind Energy Programme (PDF, 292 KB, non-accessible)
