The National Development Bank (NRB) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) launched a new programme to promote energy self-sufficiency and clean energy. From 31 July 2024, entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes can apply for an interest-free loan of between CZK 500,000 (EUR 20k) and CZK 3 million (EUR 120k), enabling them to install photovoltaic (PV) power plants on business buildings, warehouses, garages and carports. The support can also cover the cost of a battery-based electricity storage system. In addition, the loan comes with a grant component that allows NRB to forgive a significant portion of the repayments to clients (subject to certain conditions). The programme is financed by the ERDF, Operational Programme Technologies and Application for Competitiveness (OP TAC) 2021-2027) with a total allocation of CZK 1 billion (EUR 40m).

The National Development Bank (NRB) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) launched a NEW ENERGY SAVINGS program aiming at lowering energy consumption of Czech enterprises. This new program, successor to the existing one, targets enterprises of all sizes located outside the Capital City of Prague.

Russian invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the global energy market. The longer the war lasts, the more negative impact on European economies, especially in time of approaching winter season. In this context, ensuring sufficient energy supply at reasonable price is of vital importance for the operation of businesses - not only for energy-intensive industries, but also for small and medium-sized enterprises, still recovering from the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

After prolonged pandemic-related business constraints or rising inflation, rising energy bills have become an urgent matter for entrepreneurs. Particularly SMEs have to make great efforts to keep their business due to increasing costs. The National Development Bank (NRB, CZ) is helping them to reduce energy costs through its ELENA and ENERGY SAVINGS programmes. The ELENA consultancy will cover 90% of the cost related to the preparation of energy-saving projects. Moreover, it helps to select the most appropriate investment financing from the range of interest-free loans offered by the NRB.

The Czech-Moravian Guarantee and Development Bank (ČMZRB) will start technical assistance to enterprises, regions, cities and other public sector institutions, which will help them to prepare and launch their projects focusing on energy efficiency. Project ELENA, which is financed from the HORIZON 2020 programme managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), will start in spring this year. Technical assistance aims to lower the administrative burden and to minimise the costs related to the preparatory phase of energy efficiency projects.