EXEED capital investment supports
This grant is designed for organisations planning a decarbonisation or energy efficiency investment. It supports capital and professional services to implement your project.
Supporting energy efficient design projects
We provide grant support for projects which follow the Excellence in Energy Efficient Design (EXEED) certified standard. The EXEED standard encourages innovation in energy projects to optimise use, reduce costs and increase competitiveness.
EXEED projects are separated into two stages:
- Design stage and feasibility
- Capital investment and professional services
The grant gives funding towards stage 2 to implement the project. There is separate funding available to support the earlier design stage and an initial feasibility study.
In some cases high impact projects not aiming for EXEED certification may receive funding support.
Who can apply
Large businesses aiming to implement a significant energy project, with feasibility already established. It is open to any organisation but primarily aimed at large energy users (typically more than 100,000 KW-hours per year).
Eligible projects save significant energy through a:
- New design project, such as a new building
- Major renovation to existing buildings or assets
- Major upgrade to existing structures
- Repurposing of an existing asset
Exclusions
- Transport emissions if not related to an on-site process
- Fisheries industry
- Non energy-related projects such as R&D
Grants value
You can get up to €3,000,000 in EXEED grant funding for a project. The exact grant amount depends on your company size and the energy savings the grant will help to deliver.
Expenditure types supported are:
- Equipment (such as heat pumps, biomass boilers, solar PV)
- Installation costs
- Investment professional fees (such as an EED expert)
How we calculate the grant
- Calculate eligible costs which is the EXEED project costs minus counterfactual project costs and other ineligible costs (such as Health & Safety), along with the cost of the measures identified in stage 1.
- Decide maximum grant percentage based on your project measures.
- Value for money checks capped at €2500 per tCO2 savings annually by the project. For example, a project which saves 1,000 tCO2 each year has a max grant award of €2.5 million.
All requirements of EXEED certification must be implemented to get the full grant. A 10% retainer (capped at €30,000) is held until EXEED certification and verification of the energy savings is complete. At our discretion, we may offer lower levels of funding than the maximum.
Company size
Your company size is based on meeting the levels below for headcount AND EITHER annual turnover OR annual balance sheet total.
| Large company | Medium company | Small company |
|---|---|---|
| Annual turnover more than €50m | Annual turnover €10-50m | Annual turnover less than €10m |
| Headcount over 250 | Headcount 50 – 249 | Headcount under 50 |
| Annual balance sheet total more than €43m | Annual balance sheet total €10m - €43m | Annual balance sheet total less than €10m |
Before you apply
This application is for the capital investment stage when you're ready to implement your project (stage 2). If you're just getting started at the design stage (stage 1), you should start with the grant to establish feasibility.
Please read the EXEED Grant Scheme Guidelines for full information on the application process. Our EXEED webinar playlist can also support you to understand the process.
How to apply
The Lead Applicant from the organisation must apply using the online application form. See a read-only version of form to know what to expect. Application form instructions and other useful documents are listed below.
The application form cannot be submitted until all required supporting documentation is attached. You will need to submit:
- Declaration of Solvency
- Declaration of Financial Resources
- Declaration of SME Qualification - maximum grant of 30% if not provided
- Declaration of Incentive Effect
- EXEED Technical Workbook
- Stage 2 Multiple Buildings Form - part of the Technical Workbook, this only need to be completed if application relates to multiple buildings within one site
There is a full checklist to help in section 5 of the EXEED Grant Scheme Guidelines.
The evaluation process typically takes 4 to 8 weeks at stage 2. It may be longer for grants of over €1,000,000.
Eligibility assessment includes:
- Asset definition
- Review that EXEED process is being followed
- Implementation schedule of grant-supported opportunities
- Quality, transparency and justification of proposed expenditure
- Return on Investment appraisal
- Energy saving potential
- Grant incentive effect
- Quality and transparency of the energy saving calculation methodology
- Asset fossil fuel status
The project is given an evaluation score based on:
- Quality of EXEED studies completed during stage 1
- Depth of challenge and innovation demonstrated
- Project energy saving impact
- CO2 reduction impact
- Value-for-Money assessment
When the project has been completed and inspected, you'll receive your initial grant minus 10% which is granted on certification. For more on inspections and receiving your certification, see the EXEED certification page.
Documents
Scheme documents
- Grant guidelines - including eligibility, timelines and grant payments
- Application Form instructions
- ESCO model contract template
- Explanatory note for EXEED ESCO contract
- EXEED process diagram
- EXEED Privacy Notice
- EXEED FAQs
- Inspection process
Supporting documentation
- Declaration of Solvency
- Declaration of Financial Resources
- Declaration of SME Qualification
- Declaration of Incentive Effect
- EXEED Technical Workbook
- Stage 2 Multiple Buildings Form
- Measurement and Verification Report Guidance
Checklists
- EXEED Stage 1 Application Checklist
- EXEED Stage 2 Application Checklist
- EXEED Stage 2 Certification Checklist
- EXEED Stage 2 Final Payment Checklist
- EXEED Stage 2 Inspection Checklist
Useful tools and templates
- Lighting calculation tool - calculate energy and cost savings of lighting upgrade projects
- Design Standards-Certification for Non Domestic Measures
Contact us
Phone: 01 8082162
Email: [email protected]