Finland Circular Economy Investment Grant

Finland Circular Economy Investment Grant

This page is a historical reference, not a live application listing. Business Finland’s official service page currently says that there is no funding available to apply for. It also points readers to the instructions for previous calls under the completed programmes area. No new application period is announced on the live service page, so this record does not invent a future deadline.

The official service name is Circular economy investment grant. The most recent dated call material located for this service is Business Finland’s Recycling and reuse investments 2023 call. That call text says it was published on June 8, 2023, and that the funding call ended on September 27, 2023. The deadline field above records that real closing date because the page is an archive entry; historicalReference = true tells the site not to present it as a currently expired application opportunity.

At a glance

What the programme actually funded

This was investment support for circular-economy projects with a direct environmental result. A qualifying project had to increase material circulation, create conditions for a new circular-economy business model, or improve recycling and reuse in a way that produced business and employment benefits in Finland and potentially internationally. A general sustainability claim was not enough. The application had to explain the technical baseline and show what would improve.

The live service description identifies four useful project families:

• industrial construction, such as a new circular-economy technology, an innovative plant, or a circular conversion of an installation;
• investments that improve the circular economy of a business ecosystem, including a joint plant project;
• digital solutions that go beyond environmental standards or improve and increase waste recycling; and
• investments in recycling and reuse, including a plant or production line for waste produced by operators other than the beneficiary.

The last point matters. The historical call distinguished an investment project used in the applicant’s own commercial production from a pilot or demonstration project that is still being developed. It also treated recycling of waste from other operators under the recycling provisions differently from improvements to the applicant’s own operations. An applicant needed to describe the relevant route rather than label every waste-related project as eligible.

For projects funded through Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Facility allocation, the 2023 call required at least 50% by weight of the relevant waste or side stream to become secondary raw material. Energy recovery, reprocessing into fuel, and site-formation uses did not count as recycling for that requirement. A mass balance or equivalent calculation was the practical way to support the claim. This requirement belonged to that RRF call and should not be assumed to be a rule for an unannounced future round without checking the new call text.

Who could qualify

Business Finland described the service as available to companies of all sizes registered in Finland. The investment had to take place in mainland Finland. Ownership base was not a barrier: the official page says that companies owned by municipalities may apply, provided they meet the other conditions. A company operating only in the Finnish market was not automatically excluded, although the application still had to explain effects on the business, jobs, and potentially other businesses.

The applicant had to have enough financial capacity to cover its own share of the investment and maintain continuous financially viable operations. Business Finland assessed the company as well as the project. That means an impressive technical proposal could still fail if the applicant could not show credible financing, up-to-date financial information, or the ability to carry the costs before reimbursement.

The official eligibility obstacles included the following:

• the company is not in the prepayment register;
• tax debt exists without a valid payment arrangement;
• significant payment defaults exist;
• enforcement debts lack a valid payment plan;
• previous Tekes or Business Finland loan obligations are in arrears;
• the company lacks the conditions for continuous profitable business; or
• the company falls within the relevant definition of a company in difficulty.

Primary agricultural production, fishing, and aquaculture were excluded from the investment-support route. The official material makes a narrower distinction for some processing activities, so a company in a mixed food, bioeconomy, or fisheries value chain should check the exact activity rather than rely on its broad sector label. Funding was also not appropriate where another aid scheme already covered the same investment, such as certain energy or nutrient-recycling measures.

Funding amount and eligible costs

The grant amount was decided case by case. The maximum aid intensity applied to the additional investment costs needed to exceed an EU environmental standard or the sector’s current technological development level. It was not an automatic percentage of the whole project budget. Where the additional portion could not be separated, the applicant had to compare the proposed investment with a comparable solution that met the applicable standard or ordinary technical level.

The historical ceiling was EUR 15 million for one company and one project. The maximum intensity was 45% for SMEs and 35% for large companies, including midcaps. Business Finland paid the grant against actual project costs on the basis of interim and final reports and accounts, with no advance payment. A company therefore needed a credible bridge for its own financing and could not build a plan around receiving the grant before spending.

The investment call identified potentially acceptable cost types such as:

• wages and salaries directly attributable to the project;
• indirect personnel costs;
• external purchased services;
• materials and supplies;
• machinery and equipment purchases and installation;
• intangible or intellectual-property rights;
• equipment or access rights for data and similar networks; and
• commissioning the investment and training operating personnel required for it.

Only reasonable costs necessary for the approved project were relevant. For an investment project, the material also excluded the beneficiary’s general overhead and travel expenses, sales and marketing, normal operating costs, bank and financing costs, and costs of preparing contracts. VAT was not an eligible cost where the beneficiary was liable to pay it. Costs incurred before submitting the application were not eligible, and starting the investment before submission could make the project ineligible.

The 2023 call also separated piloting and demonstration from investment support. A pilot or demonstration project was an R&D activity testing a solution at a smaller or sufficiently risky scale, rather than a proven solution being installed for normal commercial production. Under that historical call, a pilot or demonstration grant could reach 25% of total project costs regardless of company size; a normal Business Finland piloting loan was another possible route. If a project contained both an investment and a pilot, the call required separate applications and the applicant had to choose the correct project type for each component.

How the historical application worked

There is no application to submit today for this closed call. The sequence below explains the official process and the preparation needed if Business Finland publishes a replacement call. A future call may change its form, code, or conditions, so the current service page and new call document must take priority.

1. Check the live status first. Confirm that Business Finland has opened a call. Do not treat the old September 27, 2023 date or the old RRF call code as a current invitation.
2. Define the project before any binding start. Set out the objective, implementation phases, resources, schedule, total costs, financing, environmental result, and expected effects on business and jobs. The grant had to be applied for before the investment started.
3. Choose the right application type. The historical investment route used the circular-economy investment-support application. In the 2023 RRF call, applicants selected the code “RRF – Recycling and reuse investments.” Piloting and demonstration used the research, development and piloting application instead.
4. Prepare the project plan. The plan needed comparative cost calculations for the proposed investment and a similar standards-level or ordinary-technology solution, unless the additional eligible costs could be isolated. It also needed profitability calculations with and without support and, when relevant, a mass balance showing material recovery.
5. Document environmental and regulatory readiness. Describe circular-economy, climate, innovation, and environmental impacts. Identify any environmental or water permit, environmental impact assessment, Natura assessment, or other permit process, and give its schedule. RRF-funded applications also had to address the Do No Significant Harm criteria and include a public project description.
6. Attach company and authority information. The sender needed authority to conclude agreements for the company. The historical call required SMEs to provide a recent income statement, a current-period balance sheet, the latest financial statements, and documents showing the overall financing of the investment. Business Finland could request more information.
7. Submit through the official online service if a call is open. Business Finland’s general guidance directs applicants to the funding e-service. After submission, the applicant can follow processing and receives a written decision in the online service.
8. If approved, accept and account for the project. Review the decision and terms, approve them in the online service, arrange project accounting, implement the project, and report costs and progress. Changes must be notified according to the funding terms.

For a joint project, every beneficiary had to commit to full implementation, not merely act as a service supplier. Each party submitted its own parallel application, described its share of the work and costs, participated in management or agreed on a coordinating body, and entered into the required mutual agreement before the project began.

What an Arctic project should understand

The official source does not describe a separate “Arctic Circular Innovation Program.” “Arctic” is useful context for a project operating in northern Finland, but it does not create a funding category or replace the mainland-Finland requirement. A northern project would still need to show a qualifying investment, a measurable increase in recycling or reuse or an improvement beyond the relevant environmental standard, a sound financing plan, and compliance with the applicable call conditions.

Examples that could be relevant in principle include a commercial recycling installation serving industrial side streams, equipment that turns waste from other operators into secondary raw material, or a digital system directly increasing collection and recycling performance. A project based only on research, feasibility work, routine plant replacement, online sales, distribution channels, or regulatory compliance would need a different funding route or stronger evidence of additional environmental performance.

Common mistakes

The most serious mistakes are treating a historical date as live, starting work before submission, budgeting the entire investment when only additional costs are eligible, and describing circularity without a measurable baseline. Other avoidable problems include omitting the company’s self-financing evidence, failing to separate a pilot from a commercial investment, overlooking the project-permit schedule, or assuming that another public subsidy can cover the same costs.

The correct action while the service is closed is preparation and monitoring, not submission. Keep a short project summary, a baseline-to-target calculation, a cost comparison, financing evidence, and a permit timetable ready. Recheck every item against the next official call before using it.

Frequently asked questions

Is the grant open now?

No. Business Finland’s current circular economy investment grant page says that there is no funding available to apply for. No next round is announced there.

What is the deadline in this record?

September 27, 2023 was the closing date of the latest dated Recycling and reuse investments call covered by this page. It is kept as the historical deadline for archive accuracy, not as a date for a new application.

How much could a company receive?

The historical maximum was EUR 15 million per company and project. The grant was case-specific and focused on eligible additional investment costs, with maximum intensities of 45% for SMEs and 35% for large companies and midcaps.

Can a municipality-owned company apply?

Yes, the official service page says companies registered and operating in Finland may apply regardless of ownership base, subject to the other eligibility rules.

Is the grant de minimis aid?

No. Business Finland states that this circular economy investment grant is not de minimis aid.

Can a project be outside Finland?

No. The investment must be in mainland Finland.

Where should I check for a replacement call?

Start with the official service page and Business Finland’s funding calls and application guidance. The relevant links are:

• Circular economy investment grant
• Recycling and reuse investments 2023 call text
• Applying for funding

Those official pages are the authority for any future status, deadline, application form, or changed funding condition.