Project summary

The EU industry is responsible for a significant share of primary energy demand and GHG emissions. However, most SMEs have not tackled yet the clean transition challenge, mainly due to the lack of internal technical capacity and financial resources to implement ambitious energy efficiency plans tailored on their productive sites’ specificities. On the other hand, private investors are reluctant and still view this type of investments as risky, fragmented, complex or insufficiently profitable. The REFINEE consortium will design, test and compare place-based solutions to the above situation in two EU regions, Friuli Venezia Giulia (IT) and Istria (HR) both characterized by a high share of small industries. The project will help a cohort of 45+ SMEs make the transition to low-carbon technology, providing technical support to access public-private financial innovative schemes rewarding companies’ collaborative approaches. A basket bond for energy sustainable SMEs’ will be launched in Fvg targeting strategic value chains and blending public (ERDF) and private financial sources. In Istria a hybrid instrument will push the creation of the first Industrial Energy Communities located in the entrepreneurship zones. Overall triggered investments in sustainable energy will reach up to 53 million EUR and lead to the creation of over 300 new jobs. REFINEE will unlock and maximise private finance by giving investors a range of reliable investment opportunities and providing them a third-party evaluation tool. Moreover, the blending with public funds will reduce their risks, making their participation to the initiative more attractive. Slovenia is going to be the EU replication laboratory at national scale and advocate for adopting similar instruments leveraging on project’s lessons learnt.

Project specific objectives

1. Creating a framework for encouraging more significant investments in low-carbon technology among small and medium-sized enterprises

2. Encouraging the creation of the first energy communities in industrial zones, which relate to the public and private sector in the Istrian County

3. Developing hybrid financial instruments that will encourage small and medium-sized entrepreneurs to join the green transition

4. Creation of new jobs

Project area

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