The European Commission will support 5 projects with €113.7 million to foster urban development, supporting the green transition in carbon-intensive regions in Czechia, France and the Netherlands by deploying green transport modes, developing cultural infrastructure, and promoting energy efficiency.  

The projects were submitted under the 4th cut-off date of the Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF), which closed on 20 September 2023. PSLF is a blending facility that combines loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) with grants from the Commission to support a fair and just transition towards climate neutrality across the European Union. The grants from the European Commission will be complemented by loans from the EIB.  

A grant of up to €31.5 million will support green mobility in the metropolitan area of Lille, France. The project consists of partial replacement of natural gas buses and refuse collectors with hydrogen vehicles, modernisation and capacity increase of the tram network and construction of a 220 km cycling infrastructure. 

A grant of €30 million will be awarded to the city of Nantes in France for the renovation of three tram line sections, the replacement of 46 units of rolling stock, the construction of a technical centre, the construction of an intermodal exchange hub and of 38 km of safe cycling lanes. 

A grant of €21 million will contribute to the construction of a Concert Hall as an extension of the House of Culture in the city of Ostrava in Czechia and stimulate the economic diversification of the region. 

A grant of up to €16.2 million will support the Dutch green energy supplier Mijnwater in the development of its innovative 5th generation heating and cooling grid in the Zuid-Limburg area of the Netherlands. 

Finally, up to EUR 15 million of EU funding will contribute to the extension of the North-South tramway line in the city of Marseille in France, the construction of a building to house the maintenance and storage stock and the creation of a second park-and-ride facility at the southern terminus. 

Background  

The Public Sector Loan Facility (PSLF) is an instrument under the Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) that aims at alleviating the social and economic effects of the transition of the EU regions towards climate neutrality. It is a blending facility that combines loans from the EIB (up to EUR 10 billion) with grants from the European Commission (up to EUR 1.5 billion) to help mainly public sector entities in the most affected EU regions (identified in the territorial just transition plans) to mobilise additional public investments and meet their development needs in the transition to a climate-neutral economy. 

The European Commission (DG REGIO and CINEA) is responsible for the grant component of the Facility while the EIB is responsible for the loan component. CINEA is in charge of the implementation of the Facility. 

The first PSLF call for proposals was launched on 19 July 2022 with 10 intermediate cut-offs until the end of 2025. There are 3 cut-off dates per year planned until 2025. Under the previous cut-offs, 2 projects worth €25.1 million from Greece (Socio-Economic Transition of Western Macedonia) and Sweden (Sustainable and Affordable Housing for the New Green Industry and Society in Skelleftea) were selected. 

• Budget available for each Member State 
• PSLF eligible sectors and regions  
• Find out more about the public sector loan facility