Financing your business with ADEME

Introduction

The Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME) supports businesses and other stakeholders in their ecological transition projects. Depending on the programme, its support can cover preliminary studies, investments, innovation, and the development and roll-out of solutions. The scope and terms vary according to the scheme, region, sector and type of beneficiary.

Which projects may be eligible?

Areas of intervention include reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy, the circular economy, waste prevention and recovery, air quality, mobility and industrial transition. Some schemes cover diagnostics or studies; others support investments or innovation projects.

What funding levers are available?

ADEME draws on several funds and programmes, including the Fonds Chaleur, the Fonds Économie circulaire, schemes related to air quality and mobility, as well as calls for projects linked to France 2030. Depending on the scheme, support can take the form of a study grant, advisory support or project financing. Rates, caps, eligible expenses and combination rules must be checked in the applicable regulations.

Which businesses can apply?

Beneficiaries vary from scheme to scheme. Micro-businesses, SMEs, mid-caps and large groups may be eligible depending on the programme, but some grants are reserved for specific sectors, territories, operations or categories of stakeholders. In particular, check the applicant's status, the project's location, eligible expenses and the date from which expenses may begin.

How do you submit an application?

Start from the official catalogue of business grants and filter by theme, project type and location. Then open the scheme's fact sheet to check whether it is open, the deadline, the criteria, the documents required and the submission process. For an investment project, check the rules on starting works or placing an order before incurring expenses: these can affect eligibility.

How can Capital OS help?

Capital OS matches a business's characteristics and project against the grants in its database to surface potential funding leads. This initial selection is neither a decision by ADEME nor a guarantee of eligibility. You must then check the operator, the regulations in force, whether the scheme is open, the territory, eligible expenses and the combination rules.

FAQ

Does ADEME only fund energy projects? No: its scope also covers the circular economy, air quality, mobility, soil and other ecological transition issues. Are all grants investment subsidies? No: studies, diagnostics and advisory support can also be covered. Is a grant listed in a database necessarily open? No, its status and timeline must be checked on the official fact sheet. Can several grants be combined? This depends on the regulations and the applicable public aid rules.

Official sources

• ADEME — Funding
• ADEME — Business catalogue
• ADEME — Financial support for businesses