The Regional Government, through the Regional Ministry of Business, Self-Employed, and Energy, has launched two new grant lines worth 3.8 million euros to promote the circular economy. The regional minister for this department, Alejandro Sáenz de San Pedro, and the Director General for the Circular Economy, Energy Transition, and Climate Change, Diego Viu, have presented the grants, which will help companies and social economy organizations develop projects that consume fewer resources, generate less waste, and improve their competitiveness.
The call for proposals for companies and business groups has a budget of 2.4 million euros, of which 1.3 million comes from the FEDER 2021-2027 program and 1.1 million from the Sustainable Tourism Tax (ITS). The second call for proposals, aimed at cooperatives and other social economy organizations, has a budget of 1.4 million euros, funded equally by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) program and the ITS.
The grants cover all phases of circular economy projects, from research, development, and innovation to feasibility studies and the implementation of new initiatives or the improvement of existing projects.
Specifically, initiatives will be funded to reduce the consumption of virgin raw materials through the reuse of materials and by-products; to promote eco-design to extend the life of products, make them easier to repair, and improve their recyclability; and to strengthen waste management through new infrastructure and systems that promote high-quality reuse and recycling. Measures for wastewater treatment and regeneration are excluded from this call for proposals.
The best way to manage waste
Sáenz de San Pedro emphasized that the best way to manage waste is to prevent it from being generated in the first place, and stated that these subsidies “aim to turn sustainability into an opportunity for companies to become more competitive, innovative, and efficient.”
To accommodate the scope of each initiative, the calls for proposals provide for two funding regimes. On the one hand, there is a regime that is subject to the de minimis rule, which can subsidize up to 80 percent of the investment; and, on the other hand, another, regulated by European Regulation 651/2014, is intended for larger-scale projects related to research, environmental protection, and waste reuse and recycling.
Each project can receive up to 700,000 euros in the research and project execution categories, while feasibility studies can receive up to 25,000 euros. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis, and only projects that achieve a minimum score of 50 points and meet the environmental and economic impact requirements set forth in the terms and conditions will be funded.
Eligible expenses include, in particular, the acquisition of machinery and equipment, the implementation of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain, as well as personnel costs and the costs of specialized services necessary to carry out the projects.
The two calls for applications were published in the BOIB on Thursday, June 25. The deadline for submitting applications is August 26, and the entire application process will be conducted online through the Government’s Circular Economy portal.
