Several federal ministries launched new funding programmes and research initiatives in April. The common goal is to promote affordable and climate-friendly construction in order to advance the energy transition through energy-efficient and climate-friendly buildings.
The building sector accounts for around 40 per cent of Germany's final energy consumption and about one third of its CO2-emissions. At the same time, the potential for energy and CO2-saving big.
150 million euros for research
The Federal Ministries for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and Education and Research (BMBF) are making 150 million euros available for the research initiative "Solar Construction/Energy Efficient City" as part of their energy research programme. Over a period of up to five years, these funds will be used to develop technologies that accelerate the expansion of energy efficiency and the integration of renewable energies.
In addition to technological aspects, the initiative also takes into account questions of demographic change in our society and is dedicated to the topic of sustainable and affordable housing. Furthermore, it is a contribution to the implementation of the project "Guideline Future City" of the BMBF. With this guideline, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research aims to promote innovations for the sustainable city.
New funding round for innovative building projects
In the new funding round, the "Zukunft Bau" research initiative of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) focuses on low-cost housing, energy efficiency and renewable energies in buildings and neighbourhoods. The focus is also on sustainable construction and construction quality, demographic change and new materials and technologies. For this purpose, the BMUB In 2016, funding amounting to 18.7 million euros was available for around 50 projects.
The deadline for submitting funding applications is 30 June 2016. Applications are open to all institutions and companies involved in innovative projects in the field of construction.
Since the "Zukunft Bau" research initiative was founded in 2006, more than 1,000 research projects have already been funded with almost 115 million euros in federal funds.
Maximum subsidy amount for builders doubled
Since the beginning of 2016, new buildings must meet stricter energy requirements. Since then, the annual energy demand must be 25 percent below the previously valid value. The higher requirements can be implemented sustainably through the use of modern heating technology and renewable energies.
To enable builders to make greater investments in energy-efficient buildings, the KfW renewed the "Energy-efficient Construction" programme as of 1 April 2016. The maximum subsidy per housing unit is now 100,000 euros, previously it was 50,000 euros. In addition to the 10-year interest rate reduction, a new variant with a 20-year fixed interest rate is offered. Furthermore, the builder-owner has a binding entitlement to a building assistance grant. In this case, they receive 50 percent (max. 4,000 euros) of the costs for energy planning and construction supervision by an independent expert.
In addition to the standards that continue to exist KfW-Efficiency House 55 and 40 will be the new standard "KfW-Efficiency House 40 Plus" has been introduced. This applies to buildings that generate and store energy sustainably and thus predominantly cover the remaining, low energy demand themselves.
The new repayment subsidies in detail:
- • KfW-Efficiency House 40 Plus: 15 percent of the loan amount, up to 15,000 euros for each housing unit
- • KfW-Efficiency house 40: 10 percent of the loan amount, up to 10,000 euros for each housing unit
- • KfW-Efficiency house 55: 5 percent of the loan amount, up to 5,000 euros for each housing unit.
The "Energy-efficient construction" programme is part of the programme funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. CO2-building refurbishment programme. With the National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPE), the funds for the CO2-Building Rehabilitation Programme increased to 2 billion euros annually by 2018.
Source: www.bundesregierung.de/...mehr-geld-fuer-forschung-und-bauen.html
(retrieval: 23.5.2016)
Keywords:
DE-News, Renewable, Research, Funding, Climate protection, PlusEnergy house/settlement, Resource efficiency, Environmental policy
