GREEN TRANSITION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY FOR SMEs
KEHOP Plusz-5.1.0-26
Combined Loan Programme for Technology Change, Energy Efficiency Investments and the Circular Economy
Megnézem nekem szól-ePurpose of the programme
KEHOP Plusz-5.1.0-26 is a combined financing programme with a single application procedure. It aims to support the green and economic transition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Baranya, Heves and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén counties, in line with the Territorial Just Transition Plans for the areas concerned.
The programme supports two main types of development:
- technology change and energy-efficiency investments aimed at reducing SMEs’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
- the economic diversification of SMEs, including developments related to clean technologies, the circular economy and the green transition.
The total budget of the loan programme is HUF 31 billion: HUF 11 billion is allocated to projects in Baranya County, while HUF 20 billion is allocated to projects in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén and Heves counties.
Who can apply for funding?
Funding is available to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that have at least one fully completed financial year.
Eligible enterprises must have their registered office in Hungary or, if their registered office is in the European Economic Area (EEA), a Hungarian establishment or branch and a Hungarian tax number. They must qualify as potentially economically viable SMEs, taking into account the data of partner and linked enterprises; start-ups are excluded.
Eligible legal forms include, among others, limited liability companies, companies limited by shares, general partnerships, limited partnerships, cooperatives, sole proprietorship companies, individual entrepreneurs, Hungarian branches of foreign enterprises, and certain non-profit business entities.
Start-ups are not eligible for financing, and applications may not be submitted by consortia under this programme.
Where can the investment be implemented?
The project must be implemented in one of the following three counties:
- Baranya County
- Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County
- Heves County
For eligibility purposes, the actual project implementation site—not the applicant’s registered office—is decisive. For example, an SME registered in Budapest may also use the programme if its investment is implemented in one of the three eligible counties.
At the time the loan application is submitted, the implementation site must already be registered in the relevant records as the enterprise’s registered office, establishment or branch. The enterprise must carry out economic activity at that site throughout the loan term.
The site must be suitable for carrying out economic activity throughout the loan term. Assets and intangible assets purchased under the project must be recorded and capitalised in the books associated with that site.
Form and amount of financing
The programme provides an interest-free investment loan with a term exceeding one year, combined with a non-repayable grant.
For both main sub-objectives, the available financing amount is:
minimum HUF 5 million – maximum HUF 500 million.
However, the total financing requested under the programme may not exceed 15 times the operating profit for the last fully completed financial year preceding the assessment of the loan application.
How much non-repayable grant is available?
Up to 50% of the total financing amount may be provided as a non-repayable grant. In other words, the grant amount may not exceed the loan component.
This does not mean that an automatic 50% aid intensity applies. The aid element of the preferential loan also counts towards the state-aid intensity, and the maximum aid intensity applicable to the relevant aid category and enterprise size must always be observed.
For the technology-change and energy-efficiency sub-objective, achieving at least a 30% reduction in GHG emissions or a 30% reduction in primary energy consumption is a basic eligibility requirement.
Aid intensity for decarbonisation investments
The draft call specifies separate aid intensities for environmental investments that include decarbonisation.
| Investment outcome | Medium-sized enterprises | Micro and small enterprises |
| 100% direct GHG-emissions reduction, excluding investments relying on biomass | 37,5% | 42,5% |
| 30–99% direct GHG-emissions reduction, including investments relying on biomass | 32,5% | 37,5% |
Under this aid category, only investment costs directly related to achieving a higher level of environmental protection may be eligible.
Energy-efficiency improvements
Under the energy-efficiency sub-objective, investments that help reduce the enterprise’s energy consumption may be supported.
According to the draft call, a key requirement is to achieve at least 30% primary energy savings as a result of the project. This result must be substantiated by appropriate energy calculations and expert documentation.
Developments may include, among other things, building energy-efficiency upgrades, improvements to the energy efficiency of production technology and, subject to the conditions of the call, investment components related to renewable energy.
Technology change aimed at reducing GHG emissions
Under the technology-change sub-objective, only low-GHG-intensity technology may be installed. The investment must result in at least a 30% reduction in GHG emissions.
Under the rules of the Just Transition Fund, investments related to the production, processing, transport, distribution, storage or combustion of fossil fuels are not eligible. Accordingly, equipment, machinery or systems that use fossil energy sources are also ineligible under this aid category.
Support for business diversification
The other main sub-objective supports the economic diversification of SMEs. Financing may be used for potentially economically viable projects that preserve jobs and demonstrably contribute to diversifying the enterprise’s activities.
Priority areas include manufacturing and production activities related to clean technologies and industries, investments supporting the development of the circular economy, and developments linked to enterprises’ green objectives.
For clean technology manufacturing, eligible activities may include technological upgrades that expand or develop the enterprise’s activities, including the purchase of new tangible assets, machinery and equipment.
Preserving existing jobs is a requirement under the diversification sub-objective. If the job-preservation target specified in the loan agreement is not met, the non-repayable grant will be converted into an interest-free loan.
Eligible activities
Eligible costs
1. Sub-objective: Supporting technology change and energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
(Basic requirement: the investment must achieve at least 30% primary energy savings or a 30% reduction in GHG emissions; equipment or systems using fossil energy sources are not eligible.)
- Energy-saving and energy-efficiency improvements (eligible on a stand-alone basis):
- Modernisation of production processes: purchase of new energy-efficient machinery, equipment and tangible assets; enabling the use of energy-efficient raw materials through process and technology upgrades; equipment and software supporting production optimisation; and installation of equipment for using own or externally sourced residual/waste heat.
- Building energy-efficiency investments (replacement of at least two types of building elements is mandatory): thermal insulation of the building envelope (façade, ceiling, roof); replacement or upgrading of doors and windows; installation of shading structures; replacement of ventilation systems; modernisation of heating, cooling and domestic hot-water systems and conversion to renewable-based solutions (solar thermal collectors, heat-pump systems, pipe insulation); energy-efficient upgrades to lighting systems (with presence and light sensors); and installation of energy-management systems and smart meters.
- Technology change aimed at reducing GHG emissions (eligible on a stand-alone basis):
- Purchase of tangible and intangible assets required to deploy technologies that reduce GHG emissions from production processes, including electrification and the use of green hydrogen and/or biogas.
- Supplementary activities that are not eligible on a stand-alone basis:
- Installation of renewable electricity generation systems and/or energy storage for own consumption (they must not feed electricity into the grid; maximum 20% of total eligible costs).
- Ancillary infrastructure investments (building services, drinking-water, industrial-water and fire-water networks, electricity-grid connection, wastewater drainage, lifts, cold-storage rooms and outdoor lighting; maximum 10%).
2. Sub-objective: Supporting the diversification of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
(Basic requirement: preserving existing jobs and establishing or expanding a manufacturing or service environment related to the green or circular economy.)
- Support for green technologies (clean technologies) (eligible on a stand-alone basis):
- Purchase of new tangible assets, machinery and equipment for manufacturing and producing green/clean technologies (net-zero technologies, e.g. solar, wind, heat-pump, geothermal, hydrogen, biogas, electricity-grid, energy-storage, alternative-fuel and other decarbonisation technologies).
- Support for the circular economy (eligible on a stand-alone basis):
- Circular product design and manufacturing: investments in tangible and intangible assets that extend product life, improve repairability, reuse and recyclability, reduce material use and minimise waste and rejects.
- Circular use: building capacity to reuse, repair, refurbish or remanufacture worn-out or surplus products and components; asset-sharing models; and tools for “product-as-a-service” models.
- Circular value recovery: development of waste collection and reverse-logistics systems, dismantling capacity, and preparation and processing of recovered raw materials for recycling.
- Circular technologies: introduction of software, applications and virtual marketplaces that implement resource-efficiency and circular-economy strategies.
- Kiegészítő, önállóan Supplementary activities that are not eligible on a stand-alone basis:támogatható tevékenységek:
- Infrastructure development (extension of existing buildings, modernisation of existing infrastructure, construction of new buildings/structures; construction costs are subject to a separate maximum limit of 70%).
- Market expansion and portfolio development (market research, marketing activities, and participation in domestic and international trade fairs and exhibitions; maximum 10%).
Under the diversification sub-objective, eligible costs for supplementary activities that are not eligible on a stand-alone basis are generally capped at 20% of total eligible costs. Separate caps apply to construction costs (70%) and marketing and market-research costs (10%).
Depending on the nature of the project and the aid category used, eligible costs may include, among others:
- project preparation and design;
- construction, conversion, extension and modernisation;
- purchase of new tangible assets;
- purchase of intangible assets;
- construction technical-supervision services;
- engineering and expert services;
- specified training, consultancy and related service costs.
Separate percentage-based and unit-cost limits may apply to individual cost categories; these must therefore be checked when preparing the project budget.
Own contribution
At least 10% of the eligible project costs must be covered by an own contribution free from any public funding.
Availability of the own contribution must be evidenced no later than before the first disbursement.
Interest and other financing conditions
The interest rate on the loan, both during and after the grace period, is:
0% per annum.
No management fee, commitment fee, early repayment fee or contract amendment fee will be charged. However, third-party costs may arise, such as notary or valuation fees.
The financing currency is Hungarian forint (HUF).
Supplier advance payment
For the purchase of tangible assets, a supplier advance of up to 50% of the financing amount may be available.
Requirements for suppliers and the detailed conditions for drawing down the advance are set out in the Procedural Rules.
Term and project implementation
The deadline for physical and financial completion of the project is no later than 24 months after the contract is signed.
The loan term depends on the depreciation classification of the assets financed. For building energy-efficiency investments, or the construction, conversion or extension of real estate, the term may be up to 120 months from the date the loan agreement is signed, provided that the relevant property is included as collateral.
The availability period is 6–24 months from the date of signing the contract. The grace period depends on the sub-objective: 3–6 months for technology change/energy efficiency and 15–18 months for diversification. After the grace period, repayments are made monthly in equal principal instalments.
Rules on starting the investment
As a general rule, the loan applicant must submit the application before starting work related to the project or activity. In this case, costs incurred after the written submission of the application may be financed.
As an exception, a project that started before the application was submitted but has not yet been completed may be supported only under the de minimis aid category.
Submission of loan applications
According to the draft call, the planned application period is:
1 January 2027 – 31 October 2027, or until the available budget is exhausted.
Applications must be submitted, together with all mandatory annexes, to an appropriately authorised MFB Pont Plusz intermediary that has a contractual relationship with MFB Zrt. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. The deadline for the final disbursement under the loan agreement is 30 November 2029.
An enterprise may have no more than one approved application under each sub-objective.
Important: this summary is based on the draft call for KEHOP Plusz-5.1.0-26, which the document states would enter into force on 31 October 2026. The budget, deadlines, eligibility criteria, aid intensities and other requirements may change before the final call is published.
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