Apply for a loan with a repayment subsidy for the use of geothermal energy

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) promotes measures to increase energy efficiency.
You can receive funding for the following measures:

• for the construction of plants to use geothermal energy,
• for production and injection wells to tap geothermal energy at a drilling depth of more than 400 metres for heat generation or for combined electricity and heat generation,
• for additional costs for boreholes with special technical risks.

You will not receive any subsidies

• for exploratory drilling,
• for self-built and second-hand plants,
• for prototypes (plants of which there are less than 4 units),
• if you are the manufacturer of eligible equipment or its main components,
• for trust constructions,
• for so-called in-lieu transactions, such as purchases from a spouse's property,
• for debt rescheduling and follow-up financing of measures that have already been started,
• if you have already started with the measure before you submitted the application.

If you tap deep geothermal energy and use it sustainably, you can get a loan of up to EUR 25 million. You can get a loan for up to 80 percent of the eligible costs of your measure.
The amount of the subsidy for the repayment of the loan depends on the type and use of your measure:

Measures exclusively for heat generation

• Plant subsidies:
  • You receive EUR 200 per kilowatt (kW) of installed or expanded nominal heat output. You can receive a maximum of EUR 2 million in subsidies.
    
    
• Drilling cost subsidy:
  • for drilling depths from 400 metres to 1,000 metres below, you receive EUR 375 subsidy for each metre of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • for the drilling depth between 1,000 meters and 2,500 meters below, you will receive EUR 500 subsidy for each meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • From a drilling depth of 2,500 metres, you receive EUR 750 subsidy for each metre of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
    
    You get a maximum of EUR 2.5 million subsidy for one deep well. You are allowed to drill up to 4 deep wells in total. You can therefore receive a maximum of EUR 10 million in subsidies.
    
    
• Additional expenses for deep wells with particular technical risk:
  • For deep wells with a particular technical risk, you will receive up to 50 percent of the resulting additional costs for each well (but no more than 50 percent of the previously planned costs).
    
    You can receive a grant of up to EUR 1.25 million for a well with a particular technical risk. In total, you can drill up to 4 deep boreholes in your project. You can therefore receive a maximum grant of EUR 5 million.
    
    

Measures for combined electricity and heat generation

• Plant production:
  • The amount of your grant depends on the gross electrical output (P) and the nominal heat output (Q). The grant is calculated as follows: (1-(P/Q))*EUR 200 per kilowatt of installed or expanded nominal heat output. You can receive a maximum grant of EUR 1 million.
    
    
• Drilling cost subsidy:
  • for the drilling depth from 400 meters to 1,000 meters you will receive EUR 375 subsidy for each meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • for the drilling depth between 1,000 meters and 2,500 meters below, you will receive EUR 500 subsidy for each meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • From a drilling depth of 2,500 meters, you no longer receive a subsidy.
    
    you get up to EUR 975,000 subsidy for deep drilling. In total, you may drill up to 4 deep wells in your scheme. You can receive a maximum grant of EUR 3.9 million.
    
    
• Additional expenses for deep wells with particular technical risk:
  • For deep wells with special technical risks, you will receive up to 50 percent of the resulting additional costs for each well (but no more than 50 percent of the previously planned costs).
    
    You can receive a grant of up to EUR 1.25 million for a well with a particular technical risk. In total, you may drill up to 4 deep wells in your project. You can receive a maximum grant of EUR 5 million.

If you

• one company
  • with fewer than 250 employees
    and
    
  • have an annual turnover of less than EUR 50 million and
• the heat and/or energy produced by your measure is used for the operation of a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME),

then your grant will increase by 10 percent overall.

Small and medium-sized enterprises have

• less than 250 employees
  and
  
• an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million.

You will only receive the repayment grant once you have completed your measure. To do this, you must prove

• that you have spent the money from the loan on the measure,
• that the measure technically fulfils its purpose.

You must keep all invoices and receipts related to eligible costs.

Applications for subsidies are processed by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

You are not entitled to the grant.