About EUCF

Municipalities, local authorities and local public entities are the driver of the European sustainable energy transition. With tremendous potential to build comprehensive sustainable energy investment programmes, they also play a key role in pooling smaller projects into larger investment portfolios and in mobilising significant financial resources required for the energy transition.

The EUCF unlocks this potential to and support municipalities, local authorities, their groupings and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities in Europe with tailor-made, fast and simplified financial support (in the form of EUR 60,000 lump sums) and related services. This enables them to develop relevant investment concepts related to the implementation of actions identified in their climate and energy action plans.

Successful applicants to the EUCF are using their lump sum to develop their investment concepts, which represents an initial step towards a fully-fledged business and financial plan. The ultimate objective is to build a substantial pipeline of sustainable energy investment projects across local authorities and local public entities in Europe.

The EUCF was set up under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Union, and is currently being funded as part of the Life Programme.

The ultimate objective is to build a substantial pipeline of sustainable energy investment projects across municipalities, local authorities and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities in Europe. Delivering this will require organisational, technical and financial innovation, in particular to bridge the capacity and capability gap for small and medium-sized municipalities.

The specific objectives of the EUCF are to:

• Provide hands-on locally rooted technical and financial expertise, inspired by ‘best in class’ European practice, to municipalities, local authorities and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities to deliver credible and scalable investment projects, which should trigger public and private investment;
• Build the capacity of municipal staff to develop substantial project pipelines and provide them with tools, networking and knowledge transfer opportunities, which will facilitate and accelerate the IC implementation, including via innovative financing mechanisms and project aggregation.
• Facilitate access especially for small and medium-sized municipalities, to private finance, EU funding streams and similar facilities, such as the European Structural and Investment Funds, EU Project Development Assistance programmes and the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) European Local Energy Assistance) and advisory services such as the EIB Advisory Hub to realise and amplify the expected investments.
• Use the successful investment concepts and the knowledge of EUCF beneficiaries to reach out to more than 10,000 local governments, encourage replication and catalyse further action across European cities.

More information can be found here.