2025 Call for Applications for "BUSINESS PROJECTS THAT GENERATE EMPLOYMENT" and "SMALL INVESTMENT PROJECTS THAT GENERATE OR MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT", PROMOTING THE ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF JUST TRANSITION AREAS

The INSTITUTE FOR JUST TRANSITION, under the MINISTRY FOR THE ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION AND THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE, has just published the 2025 Call for Applications for its two programs aimed at generating alternative economic activities in areas affected by the closure of coal mines, coal-fired power plants, and nuclear power plants.

These are the following calls:

• GRANTS FOR “BUSINESS PROJECTS THAT GENERATE EMPLOYMENT” PROMOTING THE ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF JUST TRANSITION AREAS.
• GRANTS FOR “SMALL INVESTMENT PROJECTS THAT GENERATE OR MAINTAIN EMPLOYMENT” PROMOTING THE ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF JUST TRANSITION AREAS.

These calls have a total budget allocation of €28 million.

Below, we summarize the main features of these grants:

BENEFICIARIES

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

TYPES OF PROJECT

Depending on the call in question:

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

*Excluded sectors: steel, coal, shipbuilding, synthetic fibers, transport, fishing and aquaculture, primary agricultural production, exports, tobacco, etc.). In the case of the services sector, all are excluded except industrial services to businesses, nursing homes, activities related to rural tourism, leisure, the environment and recreation, and services aimed at the development of the information society, innovation, and new technologies such as coworking infrastructures.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS

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

Exceptionally, companies with negative GDP growth for 2 consecutive quarters and with workforces ≥ 10 positions may commit solely to maintaining the existing workforce as of the application date for the grant, 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:

• • For projects located in areas a), only projects for an initial investment will be funded, and for projects located in area c), for an initial investment in favor of a new economic activity in the area in question.
  • In the case of a fundamental transformation in the production process: eligible costs must exceed the depreciation of assets related to the activity being modernized over the previous three fiscal years.
  • In the case of diversification of an existing establishment: eligible costs must exceed at least 200% of the book value of the reused assets, recorded in the fiscal year prior to the start of the work.

• Incentive effect. Projects may not have started before the application is submitted.
• Compatible with other grants.

• SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:
• Investment: ≥€000 and ≤ €500,000 (at least 50% of the planned investment must be carried out, always guaranteeing a minimum investment of €30,000).
• Job creation: maintaining the level of employment from the grant application date until at least three years after the maximum date for completion of investments set out in the resolution. Newly created companies or those with no employees must create at least 1 job.
• Execution period: 18 months from the final resolution.
• Start of works: the project may begin (start of construction or first equipment order commitment) up to one year before the application. For these purposes, preparatory investments such as land purchase, project design, licenses, permits, and feasibility studies will not be counted. In any case, only expenses incurred after the application date will be considered eligible.
• 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 establishes maximum limits.
• Intangible assets considered elements of the depreciable asset and exploited only in the establishment receiving the aid (digitization, digital innovation, the acquisition of software, the preparation or personalization of custom software applications, the acquisition of patents, operating licenses or patented technical knowledge, non-patented technical knowledge and other industrial or intellectual property rights, etc.) provided they are linked to production (excluding software license rental). They must appear in the company’s assets and remain in the establishment for at least 5 years, or 3 years if it is an SME.
  • Maximum 25% of the sum of land, civil works, and equipment.
  • In Business investment projects and in the case of large companies: they will be eligible up to a limit of 50% of the total eligible investment costs of the project for the initial investment.

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

Company relocations will not be eligible, except if the investment in capital goods represents at least 40% of the total investment, and if there has been no relocation to the establishment where the investment for which the aid is requested will take place in the two years prior to the aid application.

TYPE AND INTENSITY OF AID

• BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

Non-repayable grant according to company type and project location, with the maximum limit set in 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 à 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 à will consist of bonuses per committed job.
  • €500 for each job created.
  • €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 according to company type, without exceeding the maximum limit set for aid subject to de minimis rules (€300,000 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 à the maximum aid will be considered equivalent to half of the percentages established by company size.
• Employment component à will consist of bonuses per committed job.
  • €000 for each job created.
  • €000 for each job created of the following types:

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.

GUARANTEES AND ADVANCE PAYMENTS

Advance payment:

Amounts pending payment may be advanced up to a maximum of 80% of the amount of the grant awarded, depending on the budget availability for each fiscal year, upon request from the interested parties.

In the event that an advance payment is granted, the beneficiary must submit the original receipt for the establishment of a guarantee at the General Deposit Fund, in the form of a guarantee provided by a credit institution or Mutual Guarantee Society in accordance with the regulations of said Fund (General Deposit Fund Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 161/1997, of February 7, and other applicable regulations), and meeting the requirements established for these, for the amount of the grant awarded and advanced, plus late payment interest, from the time the advance is granted until the end of the period established for maintaining the committed employment. Late payment interest will be the rate established in Article 17.2 of Law 47/2003, of November 27.

The guarantee will be released once it has been confirmed that the conditions set out in the award resolution have been met, with regard to the execution of the investment and job creation, where applicable. The guarantee may not be released prior to the signing of the verification certificate, provided that the resulting final grant amount is equal to or greater than the amount previously paid. Otherwise, it will be returned once the applicable reimbursement has been made.

Payments on account:

• BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

For investment projects whose execution exceeds a period of 12 months, beneficiaries may request payments on account of 25%, or up to 40 to 80%, of eligible investments, which will be processed subject to budget availability, with the amount possibly being determined ex officio.

As a general rule, when a payment on account is requested, a partial certification confirming the value of the investments executed must also be submitted. The payment on account will not be made until the ITJ verifies compliance with the subsidized action (review of invoices and payments, and a possible investment certification visit).

In the case of payments on account of 25% of the eligible investment, this payment must be guaranteed under the same terms established for advance payments. The guarantee will be released after the signing of the verification certificate, provided that the resulting final grant amount is equal to or greater than the amount previously paid. Otherwise, it will be returned once the applicable reimbursement has been made.

In the case of payments on account of 40 to 80%, which correspond to the pace of execution, beneficiaries will be exempt from submitting and depositing guarantees, provided that the execution and payment of such investments has been verified through partial certification.

• SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

For investment projects whose execution exceeds a period of 12 months, beneficiaries may request payments on account of 40 to 80%, of eligible investments, which will be processed subject to budget availability, with the amount possibly being determined ex officio.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

• BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

Open deadline until 08/11/2025. Budget allocation of €24 million.

• SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROJECTS:

Open deadline until 2025-08-11. Budget allocation of €4 million.

ANNEX: ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITIES

13/06/2025