115 million euros for clean energy: The Ministry of Energy is launching the new "Saxony-Anhalt FUTURE ENERGIES" funding program today, which supports investments by private and public companies in the intelligent coupling of the electricity, gas and heat energy sectors. Essentially, the aim is to make greater use of electricity from renewable energies for the production of green hydrogen or the provision of heat.
Energy Minister Prof. Dr. Armin Willingmann emphasizes: "The energy transition has also made good progress in the electricity sector in Saxony-Anhalt: A good 62 percent of electricity generated in the state is now climate-neutral, making us one of the pioneers in Germany. However, there is still plenty of room for improvement in other areas. That is why we are using the new funding program to provide strong impetus for investment in sector coupling in order to make other energy sectors fit for a climate-friendly future and, in particular, to promote structural change in the lignite region."
The new funding program for sector coupling comprises two components: one is financed by the "European Regional Development Fund" (ERDF), the other by the "Just Transition Fund" (JTF). The JTF supports areas that are most affected by the transition to climate neutrality in the European Union by 2050. This includes the structural change region "Central German Revier Saxony-Anhalt" with the districts of Mansfeld-Südharz and Anhalt-Bitterfeld, the Burgenlandkreis, the Saalekreis and the city of Halle (Saale).
ERDF funding module (volume: 50 million euros)
The funding objective is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases such as CO2 in households, commerce, industry and transport in Saxony-Anhalt - by increasing the use of renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels and reducing energy consumption. The focus is on investments by companies in technologies and plants to make green electricity from wind, sun, etc. usable in the form of heat or gas for households, transport, trade and industry. These could be "power-to-gas" plants for the production of green hydrogen or "power-to-heat" plants for generating heat from electricity. Companies can submit funding applications to the "Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt" until April 5, 2024. The projects to be supported will then be selected according to criteria such as the volume of greenhouse gas emissions saved, the funding efficiency or the size of the company. Small and medium-sized companies in particular are to be supported in their investments in climate neutrality.
JTF funding module (volume: 65 million euros)
The focus of the funding is on structural change as a result of the coal phase-out in the Central German coalfield. Companies with headquarters or a branch office in the districts of Mansfeld-Südharz and Anhalt-Bitterfeld, the Burgenland district, the Saale district and the city of Halle (Saale) are therefore eligible to apply. The aim is to achieve a climate-neutral transformation of the raw material and energy supply for industry there, which has so far been dominated by fossil fuels. Support is provided for investments in plants for the production, stationary storage, transportation and distribution of green hydrogen, which is then used either to generate process heat or as a raw material for the production of downstream products such as ammonia and methanol. Companies can submit funding applications to the "Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt" until February 9, 2024. Key criteria for the selection of projects are the capacity for production and transportation as well as the customer structure and funding efficiency.
Further information on both funding modules can be found on the website of Investitionsbank Sachsen-Anhalt at https://www.ib-sachsen-anhalt.de/unternehmen/umwelt-schuetzen/sachsen-anhalt-zukunftsenergien.
Source: Ministry of Science, Energy, Climate Protection and the Environment