Standalone projects

The JTM-2026-PSLF-STANDALONE-PROJECTS is a significant EU grant opportunity under the Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF), aimed at supporting sustainable projects within jurisdictions identified in Territorial Just Transition Plans. The call opened on October 23, 2025, with application deadlines occurring on January 27, April 16, September 17, and February 16 of 2026 and 2027. The total budget for this initiative is set at 630 million euros specifically for standalone projects, functioning through a blended financing model combining grants and loans.

Eligible applicants for this funding include public sector entities such as municipalities, regional authorities, and national administrations from EU member states with approved Territorial Just Transition Plans. The financial structure consists of grants that can reach up to 15% or 25% of the approved loan, depending on project categorization, coupled with loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Projects eligible for funding must address social, economic, or environmental concerns related to the transition toward a climate-neutral economy by 2050 and may encompass various sectors including renewable energy, sustainable mobility, urban renewal, and digital infrastructure. Notably, projects that involve hazardous industries such as nuclear energy or fossil fuel production are excluded from receiving funds.

The application process consists of multiple stages, starting with an overview evaluation of admissibility and eligibility, followed by a detailed evaluation process conducted by CINEA. Applicants must also secure an EIB loan, indicative of a co-funding requirement. The program has shown competitive interest with a success rate reflecting a rigorous selection criterion; approximately 65% of proposals were deemed eligible with about 37% eventually selected for funding through previous rounds.

The initiative supports sustainable investments and is structured to mobilize a total investment of up to 15.3 billion euros combining EU grants, EIB loans, and additional funding sources. This rigorous grant opportunity underscores the importance of aligning project goals with measurable climate impact and regional development strategies while encouraging innovative solutions to pressing environmental issues.

The EU's Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF) call (JTM-2026-PSLF) aims to address social, economic, and environmental challenges arising from the EU's transition to its 2030 climate and energy targets and the 2050 climate neutrality objective. The call is specifically targeted at projects benefiting territories identified in the Territorial Just Transition Plans. Projects must also qualify for a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) or one of its financial intermediaries.

The call encompasses two types of actions: JTM-2026-PSLF-STANDALONE-PROJECTS and JTM-2026-PSLF-FRAMEWORK-LOANS, both utilizing JTM Lump Sum Grants (JTM-LS) and the JTM Lump Sum Grant Model Grant Agreement [JTM-AG-LS].

The total budget for this call is 630,000,000 EUR. The call employs a multiple cut-off deadline model, with submission deadlines on January 27, 2026, April 16, 2026, September 17, 2026, and February 16, 2027, all at 17:00:00 Brussels time. The submission session opened on October 23, 2025.

Eligible projects include a wide range of sustainable investments, such as:

Investments in renewable energy and green and sustainable mobility, including the promotion of green hydrogen.
Efficient district heating networks.
Public research.
Digitalisation.
Environmental infrastructure for smart waste and water management.
Sustainable energy, energy efficiency, and integration measures, including renovations and conversions of buildings.
Urban renewal and regeneration.
The transition to a circular economy.
Land and ecosystem restoration and decontamination, taking into account the ‘polluter pays’ principle.
Biodiversity.
Up-skilling and re-skilling, training.
Social infrastructure, including care facilities and social housing.
Infrastructure development, including cross-border projects and solutions leading to enhanced resilience to withstand ecological disasters, particularly those accentuated by climate change.

Investments in other sectors may also be supported if they are consistent with the approved Territorial Just Transition Plans.

The following sectors are excluded from JTM PSLF support:

Decommissioning or construction of nuclear power stations.
Manufacturing, processing, and marketing of tobacco and tobacco products.
Help to undertakings in difficulty, as defined in point (18) of Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014, unless authorized under temporary State aid rules established to address exceptional circumstances or under de minimis aid to support investments reducing energy costs in the context of the energy transition process.
Investments related to the production, processing, transport, distribution, storage, or combustion of fossil fuel.

Proposals must describe in Part B of the application how the project will achieve a measurable impact in addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges related to the EU's climate and energy transition. Key performance indicators (KPIs) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, job creation per gender, and the number of people reached should be provided in Part C of the application, when relevant. Applicants are encouraged to use the EIB methodology for assessing project GHG reductions and emissions variations and to consider the guidance provided in the publication “Considering gender in regional transformations: A toolkit for just transition regions” to identify gender challenges.

Admissibility conditions include proposal page limits and layout, which are described in Section 5 of the Call document and Part B of the Application Form. Eligible countries and other eligible conditions are described in Section 6 of the Call document. Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in Section 7. The submission and evaluation processes are described in Section 8 of the Call document and the Online Manual. Award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are in Section 9, and the indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is in Section 4. The legal and financial setup of the grants is described in Section 10.

Key documents for applicants include:

Call document for the Public Sector Loan Facility.
Standard application form (JTM), available in the Submission System.
Calculator (Financial information file) (JTM LS PSLF).
Simplified business plan (JTM).
JTM Lump Sum MGA.
JTM Multiannual Work Programme 2026-2027.
JTM Regulation 2021/1229.
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509.
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment, and Financial Capacity Assessment.
EU Grants AGA Annotated Model Grant Agreement.
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual.
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions.
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

Applicants can search for partners to collaborate on this topic. LEARs, Account Administrators, and self-registrants can publish partner requests.

To start the submission process, applicants must access the Electronic Submission Service via the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the appropriate type of action and model grant agreement.

For help related to this call, applicants can contact CINEA-JTM-PSLF@ec.europa.eu. Additional support is available through the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual.

In summary, this call for proposals under the Just Transition Mechanism's Public Sector Loan Facility aims to fund projects that address the social, economic, and environmental challenges associated with the EU's transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050. It targets territories identified in the Territorial Just Transition Plans and requires projects to qualify for EIB loans. The call supports a wide range of sustainable investments, excluding certain sectors like nuclear power and fossil fuels. Applicants must demonstrate a measurable impact on climate and energy targets and adhere to specific admissibility and eligibility criteria. The submission process is managed through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal, with multiple deadlines in 2026 and 2027.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is part of the Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF), suggesting that eligible applicants are primarily public sector entities. The call also mentions the necessity for projects to qualify for a loan by the EIB (or one of its financial intermediaries), further indicating that applicants should be entities capable of securing such loans.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a JTM Lump Sum Grant (JTM-LS). The projects must also qualify for a loan by the EIB (or one of its financial intermediaries).

Consortium Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. However, the possibility to "View / Edit" partner search announcements suggests that consortia are possible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The projects must benefit a territory covered by an approved Territorial Just Transition Plan. This implies that the geographic eligibility is limited to EU territories identified in these plans.

Target Sector: The program targets projects addressing social, economic, and environmental challenges related to the EU's transition towards its 2030 climate and energy targets and its 2050 climate neutrality objective. Specific sectors mentioned include renewable energy, green and sustainable mobility (including green hydrogen and efficient district heating networks), public research, digitalization, environmental infrastructure (smart waste and water management), sustainable energy, energy efficiency, urban renewal, circular economy, land and ecosystem restoration, biodiversity, up-skilling and re-skilling, training, and social infrastructure (care facilities and social housing).

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned, but the focus is on EU territories with approved Territorial Just Transition Plans.

Project Stage: The call targets projects that can demonstrate a measurable impact, suggesting projects should be at least at the development or validation stage. The need to qualify for an EIB loan further implies that projects should be well-defined and investment-ready.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic is EUR 630,000,000. The funding is provided through lump sum grants.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with multiple cut-off dates.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money through lump sum grants and must also qualify for a loan from the EIB or its financial intermediaries.

Application Stages: Based on the "Evaluation and award" conditions, there are stages related to submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring and thresholds, and an indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement. The exact number of stages is not explicitly stated, but it involves at least three key phases: submission, evaluation, and grant agreement.

Success Rates: The indicative number of grants is not specified.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. However, the requirement to qualify for an EIB loan suggests that applicants may need to demonstrate financial capacity and potentially provide some level of co-funding or financial commitment.

Summary:

This opportunity is an EU funding call under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF), aimed at supporting projects that address the social, economic, and environmental challenges arising from the transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050. The call, with a total budget of EUR 630 million, provides lump sum grants to projects located in EU territories identified in the Territorial Just Transition Plans. These projects must also qualify for a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) or one of its financial intermediaries.

The call is open to public sector entities and targets a wide range of sustainable investments, including renewable energy, sustainable mobility, environmental infrastructure, energy efficiency, urban renewal, circular economy, and social infrastructure. Certain sectors, such as nuclear power, tobacco, and fossil fuels, are excluded.

Applicants must demonstrate how their projects will achieve a measurable impact on climate and energy targets, including greenhouse gas emission reductions and job creation. The application process involves multiple cut-off dates, and applicants must adhere to specific guidelines for proposal submission, evaluation, and grant agreement. The call emphasizes the importance of aligning project activities with the approved Territorial Just Transition Plans and encourages applicants to consider gender challenges in their projects.