Promotion of Alternative Drives in Rail Transport
Grant for the procurement and conversion of rail vehicles with low-emission drives as well as the development of charging and refueling infrastructure in Germany.
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Grant criteria
Funding objective
Increase the proportion of low-emission drives in rail transport and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector through subsidies for the procurement and conversion of rail vehicles as well as the construction of charging and refueling infrastructure.
Eligible expenses
- Additional investment expenses for the procurement and conversion of rail vehicles
- Expenditures for the construction and conversion of charging and refueling infrastructure
- Costs for electrolysis plants
- Costs for feasibility studies and analyses
Eligible to apply
- Public Institutions
- Companies
Funding requirements
- Legal entities under public and private law
- Permanent establishment or branch in Germany at the time of payment
- Compliance with the requirements of the General Railway Act and technical specifications
- Use in accordance with the purpose binding period and non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure
- No parallel funding from other federal funds, no insolvency proceedings, no company in difficulty according to EU guidelines
Description
With the nationwide grant for the promotion of alternative drives in rail transport, the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV) supports the procurement and conversion of rail vehicles with low-emission drive technologies as well as the development of corresponding charging and refueling infrastructures. The aim of the program is to increase the share of climate-friendly drives in passenger and freight transport on routes without overhead line infrastructure and to sustainably reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Climate Protection Act. The technology-neutral approach enables investments in both battery-electric and hydrogen-based systems as well as in electrolysis plants for the in-house production of green hydrogen. Preliminary feasibility studies and analyses help to effectively identify deployment potentials of alternative drives and implement them economically.
Eligible for funding are legal entities under public and private law, in particular municipal institutions and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with headquarters or operating facilities in Germany. A prerequisite for the grant is compliance with the technical specifications according to the General Railway Act, non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure, as well as the absence of parallel federal funding and insolvency proceedings. Up to 40% of the additional investment costs for the procurement and conversion of rail vehicles, up to 50% of the expenses for the construction and conversion of charging and refueling infrastructure, and up to 45% for electrolysis plants are funded; feasibility studies and analyses are subsidized up to 50%. Applications are submitted in a single stage via the electronic procedure easy-Online, with the current funding calls available on the BMV funding portal.