Circular economy grants 2026: PERTE, IDAE and Cupons ACCIÓ

The PERTE de Economía Circular (the Spanish circular economy recovery programme) provides €492 million in grants and expects to mobilise more than €1.2 billion by 2026 (planderecuperacion.gob.es, 2025). The European regulatory trend is clear: the circular economy and sustainability are no longer optional. Companies that move early reach generous public funding and position themselves well with clients, investors and public bodies that prioritise ESG criteria.

Map of grants for the circular economy and sustainability

PERTE de Economía Circular (€492M)

This is the largest instrument for the shift towards a circular economy in Spain. The priority sectors are:

• Textiles, fashion and footwear: ecodesign, reuse of materials, waste reduction
• Plastics sector: 125 funded projects to improve plastic waste management and recycling
• Capital goods for renewables: repowering of wind farms, recycling of turbine blades (RENOCICLA programme)
• Manufacturing industry: industrial symbiosis, less use of virgin raw materials

Grant lines:

IDAE grants for energy sustainability

IDAE channels more than €550 million into sustainability-related programmes:

• RENOINN 2: €202.5M for innovative renewable energy projects
• RENOCICLA: the circular economy applied to renewable energy equipment
• Industrial energy efficiency: €300M to cut consumption in industry
• Photovoltaic self-consumption: grants for solar installations on company premises

Cupons ACCIÓ Green, for companies based in Catalunya

The sustainability Cupons ACCIÓ cover 100% of the cost of:

• Corporate carbon footprint measurement
• Water footprint
• Decarbonisation strategies
• A circular economy plan tailored to the company

Does your company want to move towards sustainability? Request a free assessment and we will tell you which grants fit your project.

Which circular economy projects can your company fund?

Product ecodesign:

• Redesign products to extend their working life and make repair or recycling easier
• Replace virgin materials with recycled or biodegradable ones
• Reduce packaging and use recyclable materials

Waste management and recovery:

• Turn industrial waste into by-products with commercial value (industrial symbiosis)
• Set up separate collection and internal recycling systems
• Digitalise waste traceability with technology

Resource efficiency:

• Cut water, energy and raw material consumption in production processes
• Install IoT systems to monitor consumption
• Optimise logistics to reduce transport emissions

Renewable energy and decarbonisation:

• Photovoltaic self-consumption on industrial roofs
• Replacement of fossil fuels with renewable sources
• Electrification of industrial processes

How can you combine sustainability grants with other incentives?

The most effective strategy brings several sources together:

1. PERTE de Economía Circular — for ecodesign, waste management and digital transformation projects tied to sustainability
2. IDAE / FNEE grants — for energy efficiency and renewables (grants of up to 65% for SMEs)
3. Cupons ACCIÓ Green — for the carbon footprint assessment and the decarbonisation plan
4. R&D&I tax deductions — circular economy projects with technological innovation deduct 12–42% under Spanish corporate income tax
5. CDTI grants — for R&D in new materials, recycling processes or clean technologies
6. Next Generation funds — the green transition is one of the four priority pillars of the PRTR

Carbon footprint register: entering the company in the MITECO carbon footprint register earns an official mark that sets it apart with clients, investors and in public tenders.

What grants are available for environmental and industrial investment in 2026?

Grants for environmental investment in 2026 sit in a handful of large national programmes and in regional lines that, as a rule, open once a year. The firmest reference is the PERTE de Descarbonización Industrial, called in 2026 by SEPIDES (resolution of 5 January 2026, BOE-B-2026-295), with an initial allocation of €329.7 million in its Line 1 (BOE, 2026).

That line funds comprehensive decarbonisation work in manufacturing industry: electrification of processes, use of hydrogen, integrated energy management, lower use of natural resources and carbon capture. Commercial companies with industrial activity in Spain can apply, with an implementation period of up to 60 months (BOE-B-2026-295).

The application window for that round has already closed, and the allocation was later increased because demand was high. Take it as proof that national environmental and industrial investment lines do exist in 2026, and check the current call in the BOE and the BDNS for future rounds.

On top of that come the IDAE calls for innovative renewable energy, renewable heating and cooling networks and the manufacture of clean technology equipment, plus support for industrial energy efficiency through the Fondo Nacional de Eficiencia Energética (the Spanish national energy efficiency fund) managed by the regional governments (IDAE, 2026). At regional level, ACCIÓ keeps its sustainability Cupons running in Catalunya. Because the figures and the deadlines change every year, always check the open call before planning the investment.

How is innovation in the circular economy funded?

Innovation in the circular economy is channelled mainly through the PERTE de Economía Circular and its Line of action 2, aimed at driving the circular economy inside the company (planderecuperacion.gob.es, 2026). It is the national lever that connects circularity and technological innovation directly.

R&D projects covered by the circular innovation line

This line explicitly funds R&D projects for ecodesign, ecoinnovation in processes and organisation, better treatment, reuse and recycling of waste, and investment that goes beyond EU environmental standards (planderecuperacion.gob.es, 2026). In other words, it covers not only the productive investment but also the research and development stage that comes before it.

The PERTE de Economía Circular publishes its calls in the BOE, so it is worth checking the current round before submitting a project.

Calls and activity in 2026

The PERTE de Economía Circular stayed active in 2026: the grants for the plastics sector were awarded on 30 March 2026 (planderecuperacion.gob.es, 2026). That is a sign that the instrument is still moving money, even though resolving one call is not the same as opening a new line for every applicant.

For industrial innovation tied to sustainability, the Spanish CDTI also published its Misiones Ciencia e Innovación 2026 call, open from 12 May to 12 June 2026, for collaborative R&D projects led by companies (CDTI, 2026). It is not a circularity line as such, but it funds industrial R&D that can include circular processes. In total, CDTI expects to mobilise around €1,817 million for business innovation in 2026 (according to CDTI).

Does your circular economy project involve R&D? At Tecnocim Innova we assess which grants and which CDTI grants fit your investment. Request a review.

Why act now on the circular economy?

European regulation is tightening step by step:

• CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive): ESG reporting duties extending to smaller companies
• EU green taxonomy: a classification of sustainable economic activities that conditions access to finance
• Ecodesign directive: new requirements for products sold in the EU
• Spanish waste law: rising recycling and reduction targets

Companies that get ahead of these rules reach public funding that may not be there later, cut operating costs (energy, materials, waste) and stand out as preferred suppliers for large companies with ESG criteria.

See the full map of grants and the calendar of calls so you do not miss opportunities. If your company invests in R&D for sustainability, you can also reach the R&D&I tax deductions and the CDTI grants that fund the project.

Do you want to reach the circular economy grants for your company? At Tecnocim Innova we help you design your sustainability project and manage the PERTE, IDAE and Cupons ACCIÓ grants. Contact us for a review with no obligation.