EU awards €3.5 million to two projects to accelerate Ireland’s clean energy transition

The projects will focus on expanding home energy renovation services and tackling skills shortages in the construction sector.

Ireland is currently not on track to meet its target of 500,000 home energy retrofits by 2030. The HERO project will address this by developing a stronger national model for One-Stop Shops and by improving access to finance for smaller contractors. By removing these bottlenecks, HERO aims to double the current rate of residential deep renovations. The total project value is €1,578,785, out of which the EU contribution is €1,499,846.

The BUSUnited project will tackle the shortage of skilled workers in the construction and retrofit sector. The project builds on the BUILD UP Skills United initiative and has been awarded an EU contribution of €1,975,422 under the LIFE Programme. It will bring together over 400 stakeholders from public bodies, training organisations, industry and civil society to upscale and reskill the workforce needed to deliver energy-efficient buildings in Ireland and across Europe.

Both projects were selected under the Clean Energy Transition strand of the LIFE Programme, the EU’s funding instrument for environment, climate action and clean energy. 

Two other multinational projects with Irish participation also got funding in the 2024 call of the LIFE Programme. 

Background on the LIFE Programme

The LIFE Programme is the EU’s funding instrument for the environment, climate action and clean energy. For the 2021–2027 period it has a budget of approximately €5.432 billion. Most projects receive between €1 million and €5 million in co-financing, with higher amounts available for larger integrated projects.

Under the 2024 call of the LIFE Programme, the European Commission announced EU co-financing of over €358 million to support 132 new projects, selected from more than 895 applications. These projects span all 27 EU Member States and address key priorities including the clean energy transition, biodiversity and the circular economy, thus underscoring the Commission’s commitment to ramping up investment across Europe’s green agenda

More information:

Press release 

Full list of projects

LIFE Programme