Heat Fund (Fonds Chaleur)
Funds regional renewable heat projects in France, targeting sustainable energy system upgrades and building decarbonization.
Fonds Chaleur is ADEME's dedicated renewable heat fund, established to develop renewable heat production facilities and district heating and cooling networks across metropolitan France and overseas territories. The fund operates with a base annual budget of €370 million, supplemented by €85 million from the low-carbon heat recovery plan and €150 million from the ecological resilience plan, for a combined envelope that substantially exceeds any single competitive call. Applications are accepted on a rolling, year-round basis; there are no periodic submission deadlines. Requests are routed directly through the applicant's regional ADEME délégation rather than through a single national portal, and ADEME manages both an enterprise track and a collectivité track under the dedicated fondschaleur.ademe.fr micro-site.
Two distinct applicant categories are served. The entreprise track covers private industry, commerce, and collective residential housing seeking investment support for renewable heat installations. The collectivité track covers local authorities, intermunicipal bodies, and public institutions investing in district heating or cooling infrastructure. For-profit and non-profit organisations may apply; universities and individual researchers are not eligible applicants. There are no published per-project award floors or ceilings at programme level — grant sizing is negotiated with the regional délégation based on project scope and eligible costs.
Fonds Chaleur is a cornerstone instrument of France's commitment to reaching 32% renewable energy in final consumption by 2030 under the national energy transition framework. Technologies supported include biomass, geothermal, solar thermal, heat recovery from waste processes, and connection to existing heat networks. Organisations considering an application should contact their nearest ADEME regional office to initiate a pre-project discussion, as the regional délégation assesses eligibility and frames the grant envelope before formal submission; starting that conversation early is the primary success factor given rolling submission availability year-round.
Renewable heat production facilities and heating/cooling networks for industry, business, collective housing, and local authorities.
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