9. Development of Investment Concept

An Investment Concept is a document that translates an investment project idea into a financial language in order to mobilise financing for its realisation. It aims to bridge the process path between the project idea and the business/financing plan.

The purpose of an investment concept is to provide investors and financial institutions with the information necessary to assess an investment project in a simple and fast manner. It converts climate and energy plans or part of its measures into sound investment packages and thus, facilitates access to funding for municipalities/local authorities and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities.

So far, many municipalities/local authorities groupings of municipalities/local authorities and local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities have developed ambitious climate and energy action plans but had difficulties accessing appropriate funding. In turn, financial institutions are more and more interested in financing sustainable energy projects but have problems in finding investment projects that fulfil their requirements. This document shall help in bridging this gap. 

In order to facilitate the development of the investment concept for the EUCF beneficiaries, an Investment concept template has been developed in close consultation with EUCF key stakeholders, i.e. financial institutions, municipalities and local authorities as well as climate and energy experts. The investment concept template follows the following structure:

• A one-page summary (“teaser”/”elevator pitch”) with key information on the investment project (such as estimated costs and revenues, financial indicators and expected impacts. This summary shall be developed in English and potentially be made public in the EUCF communication channels.

• The main body consists of five sections: i) Description of the planned investment project, ii) Promoter(s) and (local) stakeholders, iii) Legal analysis, iv) Economic and financial analysis and v) Investment Roadmap. The main body can be developed in national language or English, according to the preference of the beneficiary.

• Supporting documents can be attached as Annexes to complement and provide details on the main part.

A template for the development of the investment concept is available on the EUCF website. The main part of the IC is based on a 5-point structure:

• A detailed description of the planned investment project
• Project promoter(s) and (local) stakeholders
• Legal analysis
• Economic and financial analysis
• Investment roadmap

For detailed information on the Investment concept, please refer to section 4.1.3 of the Guidelines for Applicants.

The investment concepts are developed by the beneficiary municipalities/local authorities , groupings of municipalities/local authorities or local public entities aggregating municipalities/local authorities either completely in-house if enough internal capacities are available or they can engage external experts for support. Country Experts assist beneficiaries in their respective countries in this process, but cannot be sub-contracted to develop investment concepts.

The EUCF provides different means of support for beneficiaries throughout the development of the investment concept:

• Financial support is provided in the form of a EUR 60,000 lump sum for activities necessary for the development of the investment concept, such as feasibility studies, engineering analyses, legal analyses, social studies, market studies, financial analyses, etc.

• Technical support is provided through the respective Country Experts, which are assigned for each EU-27 Member State, for each EEA-EFTA States of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and the UK to offer beneficiaries locally-rooted technical and financial expertise. The EUCF team can also be contacted for any sort of queries regarding the investment concept through the EUCF Helpdesk. 

• Capacity building opportunities are provided through regional events organised by the EUCF on the topic.

Standard tools and documents, such as the Knowledge Hub on the EUCF website and Investment Concept template, are provided to facilitate the development of the Investment Concept.

EUCF beneficiaries shall develop the investment concept within twelve months from the Grant Agreement signature. If necessary, beneficiaries can request through the EUCF website user zone a one-month extension of the investment concept development period. A justification for the extension request must be provided by the beneficiary and approved by the EUCF coordinator.

As the investment concept can be developed in national language, beneficiaries are also asked to draft a corresponding English Summary directly in the EUCF website user zone. The English Summary of the investment concept is kept concise, comprising of key figures of the planned investment, including financial and impact indicators that allow for a good overview and understanding of the proposed investment. Together with the completed English Summary of the investment concept in the EUCF website user zone, the following documents have to be submitted for validation:

• Final investment concept, including all Annexes;

Letter of support to the investment project by the Mayor or other relevant political representative (A corresponding template is provided to facilitate the preparation).

Yes, the Investment Concept can be submitted in the national language. The only requirement is to make a short summary in English which will be used for the validation of the Investment Concept.

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No, detailed technical design is not required, but main technical parameters and detailed calculation of energy savings and CO2 emission reduction resulting from measures drafted in the IC are required.  

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The IC template (in national languages) is available on the EUCF website so it can be easily downloaded at any time. When the beneficiary has the final version, it has to be uploaded in pdf format.

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