European Sustainable Energy Awards 2026

As part of European Sustainable Energy Week 2026, the EUSEW Awards celebrate the people, projects, and initiatives that advance Europe’s transition to clean energy. The awards recognise outstanding individuals and projects for their innovation and efforts in the field of energy efficiency and renewables in three categories: Women in Energy, Local  Energy  Action, and for the first time this year, SMEs Driving Energy Efficiency. Nine finalist projects have been selected as some of the most creative and impactful initiatives supporting the clean energy transition in Europe, across the three categories. 

Discover the nine finalists below and vote for your clean energy transition champion until 31 May. 

Women in Energy
Recognising women who lead outstanding activities that, if replicated, help to advance the clean energy transition in Europe. Particular attention is placed on efforts to drive the gender mainstreaming agenda and support equality and equal opportunities in the energy sector. 

• Suzanne Renard leads a national movement in France that brings together, supports, and funds citizen-led renewable energy projects, while championing women and gender minorities’ active involvement across the sector.
• Dr. Nadia Horstmann plays a key role at the German energy regulatory authority Bundesnetzagentur and champions women in energy through her work on the EU level.
• Donna Gartland is driving Ireland’s transition to low-carbon heat while advancing gender equality in the energy sector through workplace innovation. 

Local Energy Action
Recognising implemented sustainable energy actions, driven by a group of citizens or consumers, which contribute to the clean energy transition at the community or local level. It also inspires and motivates others to implement similar steps for an EU-wide deployment, resulting in economic and environmental benefits. 

• 100 Projects Phasing Out Gas is Vienna's good-practice portfolio for phasing out fossil gas in existing buildings and driving the city’s clean-energy transition towards 100 per cent renewable heating. 
• MultiHome offers a local cooperation platform for energy renovations in Bulgaria’s second city of Plovdiv. 
• Nova Energia Osona has developed an energy project based on an alliance between local authorities and energy communities in Spain.

SMEs Driving Energy Efficiency Award
Recognising Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) that have developed and deployed innovative business or financing models to advance energy efficiency solutions, notably in buildings and industry. 

• Ener2Crowd is a crowdfunding platform raising millions of euros in citizen investments for energy efficiency projects in buildings and industry, in Italy and in Spain. 
• Water Horizon in France offers low carbon cooling solutions, using mobile battery technology to capture waste heat from one place, store it and deliver it as cooling to another. 
• RE-LEAF is pioneering an innovative approach to tackling energy poverty by linking mortgage finance with renovation advice in Belgium. 

The EUSEW Awards ceremony will take place in Charlemagne Building in Brussels on Tuesday 9 June 2026 at 10:00 CET, and can be watched online. It will feature the presence of: the Director-General for Energy, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission; Paloma Aba Garrote - Director of the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA); Joanna Pandera – Founder and President of Forum Energii and member of the EUSEW Awards high-level jury; Tomas Hayry – Mayor of the City of Vaasa (Finland) and member of the EUSEW Awards high-level jury; Monica Frassoni – President of the European Alliance to Save Energy member of the EUSEW Awards high-level jury.