Presented the largest call for grants from the NPOO worth 1.9 billion kuna

A call for the allocation of non-repayable funds financed by the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO), titled ‘Support for companies in the transition to an energy and resource-efficient economy’, worth 1.9 billion kuna has been presented.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development Nataša Mikuš Žigman stated that the goal is to secure funds for projects that promote a circular economy, meaning that the production process becomes more efficient in terms of resource use, while the second goal is to reduce harmful emissions from energy-intensive industries.

It is expected that through the implementation of projects financed under the program, harmful emissions will be reduced by at least 20 percent, as well as that the use of secondary raw materials will also decrease by 20 percent.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, Mikuš Žigman said, can receive full non-repayable support for investments within their project ranging from 750 thousand to 7.5 million kuna, while medium-capitalized companies can receive non-repayable support from two million kuna to 35 million kuna.

The call opens today July 1, 2022, and the submission of applications runs from August 1 to December 1 of this year.

Mikuš Žigman expects that at least 250 projects of small and medium-sized enterprises will be financed, as well as at least 40 projects of medium-capitalized companies.

Applications can be submitted by small and medium-sized enterprises with more than nine and fewer than 250 employees, while medium-capitalized companies are those with up to three thousand employees. The competition relates to energy-intensive industries, meaning that companies operating in the textile, food, wood processing, paper, chemical, construction, or metal processing industries can apply, and all projects must comply with climate goals.

She noted that investments in tangible and intangible assets, as well as in new technologies and processes, will be eligible for application. Investments related to the production of electricity, thermal, and cooling energy from renewable sources will also be promoted, and the implementation of energy audits and preparation of technical documentation can also be financed.

The largest competition to date

Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović stated that this is the largest competition to date that will be available to entrepreneurs to promote investments of small and medium-sized and medium-capitalized private companies from energy-intensive industries.

– In these challenging times, such an amount available to our economy is something that must be utilized – Filipović believes, adding that he expects a larger number of successful companies to apply for the competition.

He stated that his ministry is implementing the NPOO program through two groups of activities – the first relates to simplifying and improving the conditions for business operations of companies, while the second focuses on making funds available to companies to improve their competitiveness. By mid-July, he announced, two more calls will be announced, so a total of 2.7 billion kuna will be available to the local economy. He also mentioned that a significant reduction in parafiscal burdens can be expected in the upcoming period.

Regarding a potential new government intervention on fuel prices, the minister said that it is necessary to wait for trading on the Mediterranean market to conclude today, as it is the reference market from which values are taken when calculating fuel prices for the following week. Filipović stated that on Thursday, there was a decrease in the prices of both gasoline and diesel on that market.

– We will see how prices will move today, and then we will have accurate calculations over the weekend and make a decision – Filipović noted.

When asked who will receive vouchers and when, Filipović emphasized that this is a measure that is still being developed. He also mentioned that responding to food prices is one of the options being considered.