2023 Call for "BUSINESS PROJECTS THAT GENERATE EMPLOYMENT" AND "SMALL INVESTMENT PROJECTS THAT GENERATE OR MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT" GRANTS, PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN JUST TRANSITION ZONES

IMPULSO is pleased to inform you that the INSTITUTE FOR JUST TRANSITION, under the MINISTRY FOR THE ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE, has just published the 2023 Call for the GRANT PROGRAM FOR “BUSINESS PROJECTS THAT GENERATE EMPLOYMENT” PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN JUST TRANSITION ZONES, with the ultimate aim of generating alternative economic activities in areas affected by the closure of coal mines, coal-fired power plants, and nuclear power plants.

This call has a budget allocation of €40 million.

We would also like to inform you that in the coming days, the 2023 Call for the Grant Program “SMALL INVESTMENT PROJECTS THAT GENERATE OR MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT” will also be published, targeting the same Just Transition zones.

Below, we summarize the main characteristics of these grants:

BENEFICIARIES

Private individuals or legal entities with legal personality, as well as groupings formed by them, co-ownership communities, and self-employed workers who will undertake employment-generating projects in the defined areas and/or who maintain employment.

ELIGIBLE AREAS: certain municipalities in areas affected by the closure of coal mines, coal-fired power plants, and nuclear power plants, as well as their surrounding areas in Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha, Castile and León, Galicia, the Basque Country, and the Balearic Islands. The eligible municipalities are detailed in the annex.

PROJECT TYPES

Depending on the specific call:

• Business investment projects that generate employment in eligible areas, belonging to all economic activities except those excluded*.
• Small business investment projects that generate or maintain employment in eligible areas, belonging to all economic activities except those excluded*.

*Excluded sectors: steel, coal, shipbuilding, synthetic fibers, transport, fishing and aquaculture, primary agricultural production, exports, tobacco, etc. In the services sector, all activities are excluded except industrial services to companies, retirement homes, activities related to rural tourism, leisure, the environment and free time, and services aimed at developing the information society, innovation, and new technologies.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

• BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:
• Investment: ≥€100,000 (at least 50% of the planned investment must be carried out, with a minimum investment of €100,000 always guaranteed).
• Job creation: ≥ 3 jobs, between the application date and the maximum date set in the resolution, to be maintained for at least three years.

Exceptionally, companies with negative GDP growth for 2 consecutive quarters and with a workforce of ≥ 10 jobs may commit to maintaining only the existing workforce as of the aid application date, for a minimum period of 6 years.

• Execution period: 24 months from the final resolution.
• Need to execute and pay at least 15% of the investment within 9 months following the date of receipt of notification of the final resolution and must provide proof within the following 3 months. Failure to comply results in total revocation of the grant.
• At least 25% of eligible costs must be financed with own resources or external financing free from public aid. This must be proven at the time the grant is justified.
• The company must demonstrate a financial contribution, through own resources or external financing, amounting to at least 5% of the eligible investment. Proof of this requirement must be provided at the time the grant application is submitted.
• Large companies:

• • Only projects for an initial investment or for an initial investment in favor of a new economic activity in the area in question will be financed, depending on the area where the project is located.
  • In the case of a fundamental transformation in the production process: the eligible costs must exceed the depreciation of the assets relating to the activity to be modernized in the three previous fiscal years.
  • In the case of diversification of an existing establishment: the eligible costs must exceed at least 200% of the book value of the assets that are reused, recorded in the fiscal year prior to the start of the work.

• SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:
• Investment: ≥€30,000 and ≤€500,000 (at least 50% of the planned investment must be carried out, with a minimum investment of €30,000 always guaranteed).
• Job creation: maintaining the level of employment from the aid application date until at least three years after the maximum completion date for the investments set in the resolution. Newly created companies or those without employees must create at least 1 job.
• Execution period: 18 months from the final resolution.
• BOTH TYPES OF PROJECTS:
• Incentive effect. Projects may not have started before the application was submitted.
• Compatible with other grants.

ELIGIBLE COSTS

• Acquisition of land necessary for the implementation of the project. It is necessary to provide an appraisal. The call establishes maximum limits.
• Service connections and utilities.
• Urbanization and exterior works. The call establishes maximum limits.
• Civil works (construction or rehabilitation of real estate). The call establishes maximum limits.
• Capital goods.
• Planning work, project engineering, and site management of the works. The call establishes maximum limits.
• Tangible fixed assets. The call sets maximum limits.
• Intangible assets considered depreciable assets and used exclusively at the establishment benefiting from the grant (digitalization, digital innovation, software acquisition, development or customization of bespoke software applications, acquisition of patents, operating licenses or patented technical know-how, non-patented technical know-how, and other industrial or intellectual property rights, etc.), provided they are linked to production (excluding software license rentals). They must appear on the company’s balance sheet and remain at the establishment for a minimum of 5 years, or 3 years in the case of an SME.
  • Maximum 25% of the sum of land, civil works, and equipment.
  • In business investment projects and in the case of large companies: eligible up to a limit of 50% of the total eligible investment costs of the project for the initial investment.

In the case of small business investment projects, investment in assets that are not first-use or first-acquisition is permitted, but it must be demonstrated that this is carried out at market prices, through the corresponding certification issued by an official appraiser. In the case of business investment projects, this is only permitted for SMEs.

Company relocations will not be eligible for funding, unless the investment in capital equipment represents at least 40% of the total investment, provided the company has not relocated to the establishment where the investment for which the aid is requested will take place within the two years prior to the aid application.

TYPE AND INTENSITY OF AID

• BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

Non-refundable grant according to company type and project location with the maximum limit marked on the regional aid map.

The maximum grant amounts by zone and company size are as follows:

(*) Only applicable in the eligible municipalities listed in the annex.

The amount of the grant will consist of the amount corresponding to the increased investment component, where applicable, plus the amount corresponding to the employment component, up to 100% of the applicable maximum intensity limit.

• Investment component → the maximum aid will be considered equivalent to half of the applicable maximum intensity limit according to the regional aid map in force.
• Employment component → will consist of bonuses per committed job.
  • €7,500 for each job created.
  • €15,000 for each job created of the following types:

1. Youth employment (≥ 18 years and ≤ 30 years).
2. Persons > 45 years old.
3. Female employment.
4. Persons with disabilities.
5. Persons registered in the Job Banks of the Institute for Just Transition, O.A.

A maximum amount of aid per project or company is set at 3,000,000 euros.

• SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS

Non-repayable grant based on company type, not exceeding the maximum limit set for aid subject to de minimis rules (€200,000.00 over any period of three fiscal years).

The maximum grant amounts by zone and company size are as follows:

The amount of the grant will consist of the amount corresponding to the increased investment component, where applicable, plus the amount corresponding to the employment component, up to 100% of the applicable maximum intensity limit.

• Investment component: the maximum aid will be considered equivalent to half of the percentages established by company size.
• Employment component: will consist of bonuses per committed job.

• • €15,000 for each job created.
  • €30,000 for each job created of the following types:

1. 1. 1. Youth employment (≥ 18 years and ≤ 30 years).
      2. People over > 45 years old.
      3. Female employment.
      4. People with disabilities.
      5. People registered with the Job Banks of the Institute for Just Transition, O.A.

APPLICATION DEADLINE

• BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

Open until 05/08/2023. Budget allocation of €40 million.

• SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

Open until 05/16/2023. Budget allocation of €10 million.

ANNEX: ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITIES

2023-03-07, updated on 2023-04-20