November 17, 2025

New Opportunities for Companies in the Renewable Energy Sector

2025 – 5th Call for Cross-Border Renewable Energy (CB RES) projects. A gateway to CEF Energy grants.

The European Commission has opened up new opportunities for companies and projects working in renewable energy sector. The new Cross-Border Renewable Energy (CB RES) Status supports initiatives that produce renewable energy and involve at least two EU countries.

To obtain this status, a project must meet specific criteria, such as having a cooperation agreement between EU Member States and demonstrating greater economic benefits and cost savings than a purely national project.

 CB RES status

Obtaining CB RES status provide higher visibility, increased investor certainty, and stronger support from Member States. Furthermore, this status is a key requirement in order to enter in the list of projects eligible for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding (CB RES list).

The CEF for Energy is the EU funding programme for the implementation of the trans-European energy networks policy. Its objective is to support investments in the construction of new cross-border energy infrastructure in Europe or in the restoration and modernisation of existing infrastructure.

However, inclusion in the CB RES list does not guarantee CEF funding. Once included in the CB RES list, projects can participate in CEF CB RES calls for technical studies and works and apply for CEF funding.

The 5th Call for CB RES Status

The fifth call for projects seeking to obtain the CB RES status is open from the 2 September 2025 and closes on 5 February 2026 at 5 pm CET (Brussels time).

A CB RES project shall have three key characteristics:
  • It must be based on a Cooperation mechanism
  • It must provide greater net socio-economic benefits than a national project, as confirmed by a cost-benefit analysis
  • Its main component must be a renewable energy generation

Timing and preparation are crucial. Projects should consider applying to CB RES after feasibility studies have been completed and the partners, site location and general concept have been clearly defined.

DIAMONDS4IF community

Inspired by the article written by PNO Innovation on 24 October 2025, which you can find here, we believe that the CB RES Call could be of great relevance also to the DIAMONDS4IF community. This initiative represents a unique opportunity to strengthen the bridge between research and innovation outcomes and their large-scale, cross-border implementation across Europe. For the DIAMONDS4IF community, it is also a strategic occasion to advance mature RES projects towards deployment and to explore synergies between the Innovation Fund and the CEF Energy programmes, fostering collaboration, investment, and impact in the European clean energy transition.