Image: © Gabriel Cassan/Stock.adobe.com
The nearly €3.5m funding will focus on expanding home energy renovation services and tackling skills shortages in the construction sector.
Two Irish projects, HERO and BUSUnited, have been granted almost €3.5m in funding by the European Commission (EC), to address issues in the country’s clean energy transition and accelerate innovation.
The funding will be released under the 2024 EU Life Programme, which is an initiative that supports environmental and climate action throughout the 27 EU member states. This is achieved by supporting important projects aimed at improving biodiversity, sustainable living and the clean energy sector.
The financial support allocated towards Ireland will focus primarily on expanding home energy renovation s…
Image: © Gabriel Cassan/Stock.adobe.com
The nearly €3.5m funding will focus on expanding home energy renovation services and tackling skills shortages in the construction sector.
Two Irish projects, HERO and BUSUnited, have been granted almost €3.5m in funding by the European Commission (EC), to address issues in the country’s clean energy transition and accelerate innovation.
The funding will be released under the 2024 EU Life Programme, which is an initiative that supports environmental and climate action throughout the 27 EU member states. This is achieved by supporting important projects aimed at improving biodiversity, sustainable living and the clean energy sector.
The financial support allocated towards Ireland will focus primarily on expanding home energy renovation services and tackling skills shortages in the construction sector. Reportedly, Ireland is currently not on course to meet its target of 500,000 home energy retrofits by 2030.
The HERO project (Holistic Energy Retrofit Empowerment for One-Stop Shops), will receive €1,499,846 from the EC, with the aim of developing a stronger national model for One-Stop Shops and improving access to finance for smaller contractors. The purpose is to remove bottlenecks and double the current rate of residential deep renovations.
The BUSUnited (Building up pan-European skills in the building sector) project targets the shortage of skilled workers in Ireland’s construction and retrofit industry. Awarded €1,975,422 by the EC, BUSUnited will bring together more than 400 stakeholders from public bodies, training organisations, industry and civil society to upscale and reskill the workforce needed to deliver energy-efficient buildings in Ireland and across Europe.
The Life Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment, climate action and clean energy sectors. For the 2021–2027 period there is a budget of approximately €5.4bn, with projects typically receiving between €1m and €5m. Higher amounts are available for larger integrated projects.
A number of organisations within Ireland have made deeper commitments to the region’s clean energy targets by expanding their capabilities, acquiring or partnering with other businesses in this space.
Full Stack Energy, a Limerick-headquartered energy technology company, recently announced plans to expand into the US market with a partnership with Massachusetts-based energy market consultancy Skipping Stone.
The team-up will enable both companies to combine their expertise in the energy sector and face complex challenges around decarbonisation, renewables integration and distributed energy management.
Also, Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announced a partnership with Irish energy infrastructure specialist Astatine, with plans for the two organisations to work together to create an energy transition platform to fund and deliver renewable energy projects in Ireland and across wider Europe.
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