Commission Decision (EU) 2026/1283 of 9 June 2026 establishing the Battery Booster Facility and serving as financing decision for 2026

• CELEX: Decision (EU) 2026/1283
• Articles: 11

Article 1 Subject matter

1.   This Decision establishes the Battery Booster Facility (‘the Facility’) and sets out the amount of the Innovation Fund support available for disbursement under the Facility, as well as the rules applicable to its implementation, the selection of the projects and the disbursement of such support, in accordance with Article 15 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/856.

2.   This decision also constitutes the financing decision for the year 2026 in accordance with Article 110(2) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2024/2509 (‘the Financial Regulation’).

Article 2 Definitions

For the purposes of this Decision, the following definitions shall apply:

(a)

‘battery’, means as defined in Article 3(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( 11 ) ;

(b)

‘battery cell’, means as defined in Article 3(1), point (4), of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542;

(c)

‘electric vehicle battery’, means as defined in Article 3(1), point (14) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542;

(d)

‘ramp-up phase’ means the transitional period of a production site for electric vehicle battery cells, or parts thereof, starting with the start of the pre-series C-Sample production phase and ending when full commercial operation is achieved. Full commercial operation will be the stage at which the battery manufacturing facility achieves sustained production output of at least 95% of the nominal annual production capacity;

(e)

‘C-Sample phase’ means the moment at which the battery cell design is substantially finalised and validated through prototypes manufactured using representative industrial-level processes and equipment, making them ready for the purpose of customer qualification phase.

Article 3 Objective

The objective of the Facility is to support projects concerning manufacturing of electric vehicle battery cells in production sites in their ramp-up phase.

Article 4 Union contribution

The maximum amount of the Innovation Fund support for the implementation of the Facility for 2026 is set up at EUR 1 500 000 000, and shall be financed from the revenue generated from the auctioning of the allowances destined for the Innovation Fund, as entered in budget line: 16.03.01 Innovation Fund (IF) – Operational expenditure of the general budget of the Union as external assigned revenue.

Article 5 Methods of implementation and forms of support

1.   The Facility shall constitute a financial instrument in accordance with Title X of the Financial Regulation and shall be implemented under direct management pursuant to Article 62(1), first subparagraph, point (a), of the Financial Regulation.

2.   Support under the Facility shall take the form of interest-free loans for projects concerning battery cell manufacturing facilities suitable for electric vehicle applications and in the ramp-up phase of operation.

3.   It may also be combined with support from other Union programmes or national public support, provided that this does not lead to the combined support exceeding the total amount of eligible costs as defined in paragraph 5 and complies with State aid rules where applicable.

4.   The amount of support awarded under the Facility shall not exceed the lowest of the following amounts: (i) 60 % of the eligible costs, as defined in paragraph 5; or (ii) a nominal amount of EUR 500 million per final recipient.

5.   Eligible costs shall be limited to costs incurred:

(a)

exclusively in relation to the ramp-up phase;

(b)

after the date of the opening of the call for proposals and until 48 months following the signature of the loan agreement referred to in Article 9. Eligible costs may include personnel costs, costs of acquiring and processing materials, energy and supplies, contracted works and services, and capital expenditures within the project.

6.   Eligible costs shall not include the following:

(a)

amounts used to reimburse other loans, including from loans banks or other financial intermediaries;

(b)

dividend payments;

(c)

payments of variable remuneration or other comparable forms of compensation.

Article 6 Eligibility

1.   Final recipients eligible of support under the Facility shall be established in the EEA.

2.   A project shall be eligible for support from the Facility (‘eligible project’) if all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a)

The project concerns a battery cell manufacturing production site, that is in its ramp-up phase at the date of the opening of the call for proposals;

(b)

The battery cell technology must be suitable for its use in electric vehicles, notwithstanding that the project can have off-takers using the battery cells for other purposes;

(c)

Projects can include activities related with the manufacturing of the battery modules  ( 12 ) , as long as the project main activity concerns the manufacturing of the battery cell. Projects limited to the assembly of battery cells components or stacks, without substantive transformation of those core components, shall be considered not eligible;

(d)

The project is physically located in the EEA;

(e)

The planned nominal annual production capacity of the production site is, at least, 10 GWh, at operating conditions assuming 100% overall equipment effectiveness;

(f)

At the time of application, the project is the first full commercial scale production project of electric vehicle battery cells, at global level, of the final recipient;

(g)

The majority shareholder of the final recipient shall not have decisive influence on an already operational full commercial production of electric vehicle battery cells at global level, such as in particular the ability to direct strategic and operational decisions due to majority holding in share capital or voting rights;

(h)

The project shall comply with the ‘do no significant harm’ principle as set out in Article 10f of Directive 2003/87/EC.

Article 7 Call for proposals

1.   The Commission shall organise an open and transparent selection of the final recipients through a call for proposals.

2.   The proposals shall at least include information necessary to demonstrate that:

(a)

support is requested by eligible final recipients for an eligible project;

(b)

the requested funding has an incentive effect for the project;

(c)

the final recipient is economically viable;

(d)

the total mobilised financing from private sources for the manufacturing production site exceeds the Union contribution;

(e)

the final recipient submitting the proposal has the operational capacity to carry out the project.

3.   The proposals shall also contain, at least, the following information:

(a)

a description of the project, including elements of the design and the implementation plan;

(b)

the estimated eligible costs of the project, calculated in accordance with Article 5, and the requested loan amount;

(c)

financial and business plan, including the financing needs justifying support from the Facility;

(d)

proposed disbursement milestones, including the amounts to be disbursed when a milestone is met.

4.   Where necessary, the Commission may include further specifications in the Call for Proposals complementing this Decision.

Article 8 Award criteria

1.   The Commission shall rank the proposals on the basis of the following award criteria:

(a)

financial maturity of the project and economic viability of the final recipient, demonstrating the ability to comply with the repayment schedule set out in the loan agreement on the basis of successful execution of the business plan. The projects will need to demonstrate the incentive effect of the requested support and that the total mobilised financing for the manufacturing production site from private sources exceeds the Union contribution;

(b)

technical maturity of the project, demonstrating the ability to achieve full operation capacity within the required timeframe based on credible design and implementation plan;

(c)

contribution and added value for the European economy, including for the current and future resilience of the supply chain, notably in relation to components and manufacturing equipment, as well as consumption of critical raw materials, intellectual property rights, engagement with European stakeholders and research centers, skilled workforce, and supplying European downstream sectors.

2.   In line with this ranking, the Commission may award the support from the Facility within the limits of the available budget.

Article 9 Loan agreement

1.   Following the evaluation of the proposals, the Commission may conclude a loan agreement with the final recipients of the support selected from the Facility (the ‘agreement’) in accordance with Article 8. The agreement shall establish the rights and obligations of the final recipient and of the Commission in accordance with the conditions set out in the call for proposals.

2.   The agreement shall lay down, at least:

(a)

milestones related to the implementation and progress of the project, maximum maturity of the loan, schedule of reimbursements, conditions on the ranking of the loan (e.g subordination or seniority arrangements), and applicable contractual remedies in case of non-compliance;

(b)

specific arrangements for the management, reporting and audit of funds provided under the Facility, including requirements for regular reporting to the Commission by the final recipient on the progress of the project, as well as requirements to acknowledge the origin of the funds;

(c)

requirements for prevention, detection, investigation and correction of irregularities, fraud, corruption or any other illegal activity affecting the financial interests of the Union.

3.   The agreement shall ensure that the obligations set out in Article 129 of the Financial Regulation are fulfilled.

4.   In addition, the provisions of the agreement referred to in Paragraph 2 shall set out, at least, the following:

(a)

milestones related to the progress in implementing the business plan shall constitute a precondition for the disbursement of the loans;

(b)

maximum maturity of the loan shall be of 10 years from of the signature of the agreement. The Commission may extend the maximum maturity of the loan beyond 10 years through a revision of the loan agreement in the context of situations of financial restructuring of the project;

(c)

start of reimbursements shall be no later than either at the end of ramp-up phase or 48 months after the signature of the loan agreement, whichever occurs first;

(d)

reimbursements shall be made in equal amounts, annually, over a period of 6 years. However, as part of the loan agreement, a final recipient may choose to defer the schedule of individual reimbursements within the overall maximum maturity of 10 years. Such deferrals will be subject to a market interest rate, as to be stipulated in the loan agreement;

(e)

seniority levels of the loan may be agreed between the Commission and final recipient during the preparation of the agreement to suit the existing financial structure of each project;

(f)

appropriate contractual remedies will apply in case the final recipient ceases production of the project and starts production of battery cells at a location outside the EEA within 12 months following the cessation of production.

Article 10 Reporting and monitoring

1.   The Commission shall monitor the implementation of the Facility, focusing on the effectiveness, efficiency, and relevance of the supported projects.

2.   The Commission shall report to the Member States, as part of the annual Innovation Fund report, on the progress made on the implementation of the Facility. That report shall contain a detailed breakdown of funds disbursed by the Facility and progress made towards the objective of the Facility.

Article 11 Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .