Modernisation Fund
On 17 December 2025, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank announced the disbursement of €1.8 billion from the Modernisation Fund to support 45 clean energy-related investments in 12 different Member States, including Portugal, which became a beneficiary Member State in 2024.
Financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), this brings total Modernisation Fund support to €20.7 billion for 294 investments since 2021. In 2025 alone, €5.46 billion has been disbursed to 79 projects, following an earlier allocation of €3.66 billion in July.
✅ What is the Modernisation Fund?
📌 The Modernisation Fund, funded by revenues from the auctioning of emission allowances under the EU ETS, aims to support 13 lower-income EU countries in their transition to climate neutrality.
📌 The beneficiary Member States are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, as well as Greece, Portugal and Slovenia which became eligible for support as of January 2024, under the revised EU ETS Directive.
📌 The Modernisation Fund supports investments in the generation and use of energy from renewable sources, energy efficiency, energy storage, modernisation of energy networks, including district heating, grids, and just transition in carbon-dependent regions.
📌 It operates under the responsibility of the beneficiary countries in close cooperation with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.
📅 Next deadlines
The next deadlines for beneficiary Member States to submit investment proposals under the Modernisation Fund are:
- 15 January 2026 for non-priority proposals
- 12 February 2026 for priority proposals.