- access network
means the segment of a broadband network that connects the backhaul network with the end users’ premises or devices;”;
- adjusted aid amount
means the maximum permissible aid amount for a large investment project, calculated in accordance with the following formula: adjusted aid amount = R × (A + 0.50 × B + 0 × C) where: R is the maximum aid intensity applicable in the area concerned, excluding the increased aid intensity for SMEs;
- alternative trading platform
means a multilateral trading facility as defined in Article 4(1), point (22) of Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council where at least 50 % of the financial instruments admitted to trading are issued by SMEs;
- assisted areas
means areas designated in a regional aid map that has been approved in application of Article 107(3), points (a) and (c) of the Treaty and is in force at the time of the award of the aid;”;
- backbone network
means the core network that interconnects backhaul networks from different areas or regions;
- backhaul network
means the part of a broadband network that connects the access network to the backbone network and which does not provide direct access to end-users.
- balance responsible party (BRP)
means balance responsible party as defined in Article 2, point (14), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;”;
- biodiversity
means biodiversity as defined in Article 2, point (15), of Regulation (EU) 2020/852;
- biofuels
means biofuels as defined in Article 2, point (33), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- biogas
means biogas as defined in Article 2, point (28), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- bioliquids
means bioliquids as defined in Article 2, point (32), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- biomass
means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin, as defined in Article 2, point (24), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;”;
- biomass fuels
means biomass fuels as defined in Article 2, point (27), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;”;
- broadband infrastructure
means a broadband network without any active component and comprises the physical infrastructure, including ducts, poles, masts, towers, dark fibre, cabinets and cables (including dark fibre and copper cables);”;
- CCS
means a set of technologies that make it possible to capture the CO2 emitted from industrial plants, including process-inherent emissions, or to capture it directly from ambient air, to transport it to a storage site and inject it in suitable underground geological formations for the purpose of permanent storage;
- CCU
means a set of technologies that make it possible to capture the CO2 emitted from industrial plants, including process-inherent emissions, or to capture it directly from ambient air, and to transport it to a CO2-consumption or utilisation site for full usage of that CO2;”;
- CHP
means cogeneration as defined in Article 2, point (30), of Directive 2012/27/EU;”;
- clean vehicle
means:
- cogeneration based on renewable energy sources
means cogeneration using 100 % energy from renewable sources as an input for the production of heat and power;
- completion of the investment
means the moment when the investment is considered by the national authorities as completed or, in the absence thereof, 3 years after the start of works;”;
- contract for difference
means an aid instrument which entitles the beneficiary to a payment equal to the difference between a fixed ‘strike’ price(s) and a reference price – such as a market price, per unit of output;
- demonstration project
means demonstration project as defined in Article 2, point (24), of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- disposal
means disposal as defined in Article 3, point (19), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- distribution
means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on high-voltage, medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution systems with a view to its delivery to customers, but does not include supply;
- distribution system operator
(DSO) means a distribution system operator as defined in Article 2, point (29), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
- district cooling
means district heating or district cooling as defined in Article 2, point (19), of Directive 2010/31/EU;
- ecosystem
means ecosystem as defined in Article 2, point (13), of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- EEF
means a special investment vehicle set up for the purpose of investing in energy efficiency projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings.
- electricity storage
means deferring the final use of electricity to a moment later than when it was generated, or the conversion of electrical energy into a form of energy which can be stored, the storing of such energy, and the subsequent reconversion of such energy into electrical energy;
- energy efficiency
means energy efficiency as defined in Article 2, point (4), of Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- energy efficient district heating and cooling
means efficient district heating and cooling as defined in Article 2, point (41), of Directive 2012/27/EU;”;
- energy infrastructure
means any physical equipment or facility which is located within the Union or linking the Union to one or more third countries and falling under the following categories: Assets listed under points (a) to (g) which are built for one or a small group of ex ante identified users and tailored to their needs (‘dedicated infrastructure’) shall not qualify as energy infrastructure.
- energy savings
means energy savings as defined in Article 2, point (5), of Directive 2012/27/EU;”;
- entrusted entity
means the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund, an international financial institution in which a Member State is a shareholder, or a legal entity that carries out financial activities on a professional basis which has been given mandate by a Member State or a Member State’s entity at central, regional or local level to carry out development or promotional activities (a promotional bank or another promotional institution).
- environmental protection
means any action or activity designed to reduce or prevent pollution, negative environmental impacts or other damage to physical surroundings (including to air, water and soil), ecosystems or natural resources by human activities, including to mitigate climate change, to reduce the risk of such damage, to protect and restore biodiversity or to lead to more efficient use of natural resources, including energy-saving measures and the use of renewable sources of energy and other techniques to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, as well as to shift to circular economy models to reduce the use of primary materials and increase efficiencies.
- environmental tax or parafiscal levy
means a tax or a levy applied on a specific tax base, products or services that have a clear negative effect on the environment or which seeks to charge certain activities, goods or services so that the environmental costs may be included in their price or so that producers and consumers are oriented towards activities which better respect the environment;”;
- experimental development
means acquiring, combining, shaping and using existing scientific, technological, business and other relevant knowledge and skills with the aim of developing new or improved products, processes or services, including digital products, processes or services, in any area, technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as for example super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud or edge technologies).
- financial intermediary
means any financial institution regardless of its form and ownership, including funds of funds, private investment funds, public investment funds, banks, micro-finance institutions and guarantee societies;”;
- funding gap
means the net extra cost determined by the difference between the economic revenues and costs (including the investment and operation) of the aided project and those of the alternative project which the aid beneficiary would credibly carry out in the absence of aid.
- heat pump
means a machine, a device or installation that transfers heat from natural surroundings such as air, water or ground to buildings or industrial applications by reversing the natural flow of heat such that it flows from a lower to a higher temperature.
- independent private investor
means an investor who is private and independent, as defined in this point.
- industrial research
means the planned research or critical investigation aimed at the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for developing new products, processes or services or aimed at bringing about a significant improvement in existing products, processes or services, including digital products, processes or services, in any area, technology, industry or sector (including, but not limited to, digital industries and technologies, such as super-computing, quantum technologies, block chain technologies, artificial intelligence, cyber security, big data and cloud technologies).
- initial investment
means one of the following:
- initial investment that creates a new economic activity
means:
- innovation advisory services
means consultancy, assistance or training in the fields of knowledge transfer, acquisition, protection or exploitation of intangible assets or the use of standards and regulations embedding them, as well as consultancy, assistance or training on the introduction or use of innovative technologies and solutions (including digital technologies and solutions);
- innovation clusters
means structures or organised groups of independent parties (such as innovative start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises, as well as research and knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and experimentation infrastructures, Digital Innovation Hubs, non-for-profit organisations and other related economic actors) designed to stimulate innovative activity and new ways of collaboration, such as by digital means, by sharing and/or promoting the sharing of facilities and exchange of knowledge, and expertise and by contributing effectively to knowledge transfer, networking, information dissemination and collaboration among the undertakings and other organisations in the cluster.
- innovation support services
means the provision of office space, data banks, cloud and data storage services, libraries, market research, laboratories, quality labelling, testing, experimentation and certification or other related services, including those services provided by research and knowledge dissemination organisations, research infrastructures, testing and experimentation infrastructures or innovation clusters, for the purpose of developing more effective or technologically advanced products, processes or services, including the implementation of innovative technologies and solutions (including digital technologies and solutions);
- innovative enterprise
means an enterprise that meets one of the following conditions:
- innovative technology
means a new and recently qualified technology compared to the state of the art in the industry, which carries a risk of technological or industrial failure and is not an optimisation or scaling up of an existing technology;”;
- internal energy market legislation
means Directive (EU) 2019/944, Directive 2009/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Regulation (EU) 2019/943 and Regulation (EC) No 715/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- lignite
means low-rank C or ortho-lignite and low-rank B or meta-lignite as defined by the international codification system for coal established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;”;
- mobile groundhandling equipment
means mobile equipment used in service activities incidental to air or maritime transport;
- mobile terminal equipment
means mobile equipment used for the loading, unloading and transhipment of goods and intermodal loading units, and for moving cargo within a terminal area;
- nature-based solution
means an action to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which addresses social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services, resilience and biodiversity benefits;
- net increase in the number of employees
means a net increase in the number of employees in the establishment concerned compared to the average over a given period in time, after deducting from the number of jobs created any job losses during that period.
- organisational innovation
means the implementation of a new organisational method at the level of the undertaking (at group level in the given industry sector in the EEA), workplace organisation or external relations, including for instance by making use of novel or innovative digital technologies.
- other products, materials or substances
means materials, products and substances other than waste, including by-products referred to in Article 5 of Directive 2008/98/EC, agricultural and forestry residues, waste water, rain water and runoff water, minerals, nutrients, residual gases from production processes, and redundant products, parts and materials;
- peak-time
means the time of the day with a typical duration of one hour where the network load is usually at its maximum;
- peak-time conditions
means the conditions under which the network is expected to operate at ‘peak-time’;
- pollutant
means a pollutant as defined in Article 2, point (10), of Regulation (EU) 2020/852;
- pollution
means pollution as defined in Article 3, point (2), of Directive 2010/75/EU;
- port infrastructure
means infrastructure and facilities for the provision of transport related port services, for example berths used for the mooring of ships, quay walls, jetties and floating pontoon ramps in tidal areas, internal basins, backfills and land reclamation, infrastructure for the collection of ship-generated waste and cargo residues and recharging and refuelling infrastructure in ports supplying vehicles, mobile terminal equipment and mobile groundhandling equipment with electricity, hydrogen, ammonia and methanol;”;
- premises passed
means end-user premises to which, upon request from end-users and within 4 weeks from the date of request, a provider can provide broadband services (regardless of whether these premises are already connected or not connected to the network).
- preparing for re-use
means preparing for re-use as defined in Article 3, point (16), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- primary energy
means energy from renewable and non-renewable sources which has not undergone any conversion or transformation process;”;
- process innovation
means the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method, including significant changes in techniques, equipment or software, at the level of the undertaking (at group level in the given industry sector in the EEA), including for instance by making use of novel or innovative digital technologies or solutions.
- re-use
means re-use as defined in Article 3, point (13), of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- recharging infrastructure
means a fixed or mobile infrastructure supplying vehicles or mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with electricity;
- recovery
means recovery as defined in Article 3, point (15), of Directive 2008/98/EC as well as recovery of other products, materials or substances;
- recycling
means recycling as defined in Article 3, point (17), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- redundant products, parts and materials
means products, parts or materials that are no longer needed by or useful for its holder but are suitable for re-use;
- refuelling infrastructure
means a fixed or mobile infrastructure supplying vehicles or mobile terminal equipment or mobile groundhandling equipment with hydrogen;
- regional operating aid
means aid to reduce an undertaking's current expenditure, including categories such as personnel costs, materials, contracted services, communications, energy, maintenance, rent, administration, but excluding depreciation charges and the costs of financing related to an investment that benefited from investment aid;
- rehabilitation
means environmental management actions that aim to reinstate a level of ecosystem functioning on degraded sites, where the goal is renewed and ongoing provision of ecosystem services rather than the biodiversity and integrity of a designated natural or semi-natural reference ecosystem;
- relevant time horizon
means a time horizon used for verifying planned private investments and corresponds to the time frame that the Member State estimates for deploying the planned State funded network, starting from the moment of publication of the public consultation on the planned State intervention until the entry into operation of the network (i.e. start of the provision of wholesale and/or retail services on the State funded network).
- remediation
means environmental management actions, such as the removal or detoxification of contaminates or excess nutrients from soil and water, that aim to remove sources of degradation;
- renewable electricity
means electricity generated from renewable sources, as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- renewable energy
means energy produced by plants using only renewable energy sources as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001, as well as the share in terms of calorific value of energy produced from renewable energy sources in hybrid plants which also use conventional energy sources and includes renewable electricity used for filling storage systems connected behind-the-meter (jointly installed or as an add-on to the renewable installation), but excludes electricity produced as a result of storage systems;”;
- renewable energy community
means renewable energy community as defined in Article 2, point (16) of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;”;
- renewable hydrogen
means hydrogen produced from renewable energy in accordance with the methodologies set out for renewable liquid and gaseous transport fuels of non-biological origin in Directive (EU) 2018/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council;
- resource efficiency
means reducing the quantity of inputs needed to produce a unit of output or substituting primary inputs with secondary inputs;
- restoration
means the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem as a means of conserving biodiversity and increasing ecosystem resilience, notably to climate change.
- same or a similar activity
means an activity in the same class (four-digit numerical code) of the NACE Rev. 2 statistical classification of economic activities (NACE Rev. 2);
- separate collection
means separate collection as defined in Article 3, point (11), of Directive 2008/98/EC;”;
- share capital
includes, where relevant, any share premium.
- small mid-cap
means an undertaking that is not an SME and whose number of employees does not exceed 499, calculated in accordance with Articles 3 to 6 of Annex I, the annual turnover of which does not exceed EUR 100 million or the annual balance sheet of which does not exceed EUR 86 million;
- smart recharging
means a recharging operation in which the intensity of electricity delivered to the battery is adjusted in real-time, based on information received through electronic communication;
- smart-readiness
means the capability of buildings or building units to adapt their operation to the needs of the occupant, including optimising energy efficiency and overall performance, and to adapt their operation in response to signals from the grid;”;
- standard balancing responsibilities
means non-discriminatory balancing responsibilities across technologies which do not exempt from balance responsibility any generator as set out in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943;”;
- steel sector
means the production of one or more of the following:
- testing and experimentation infrastructure
means facilities, equipment, capabilities and resources, such as test beds, pilot lines, demonstrators, testing facilities or living labs, and related support services that are used predominantly by undertakings, especially SMEs, which seek support for testing and experimentation, in order to develop new or improved products, processes and services, and to test and upscale technologies, to advance through industrial research and experimental development.
- thermal storage
means deferring the final use of thermal energy to a moment later than when it was generated, or the conversion of electrical or thermal energy into a form of energy which can be stored, the storing of such energy, and, where appropriate, the subsequent conversion or reconversion of such energy into thermal energy for final use (i.e., heating or cooling);”;
- transmission
means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on the extra high-voltage and high-voltage interconnected system with a view to its delivery to final customers or to distributors, but does not include supply and ‘distribution’ means the transport of electricity onshore as well as offshore on high-voltage, medium-voltage and low-voltage distribution systems with a view to its delivery to customers, but does not include supply;
- transmission system operator
(TSO) means a transmission system operator as defined in Article 2, point (35), of Directive (EU) 2019/944;
- transport sector
means the transport of passengers by aircraft, maritime transport, road or rail and by inland waterway or freight transport services for hire or reward;
- treatment
means treatment as defined in Article 3, point (14), of Directive 2008/98/EC as well as treatment of other products, materials, or substances;
- Union standard
means:
- vehicle
means any of the following:
- waste
means waste as defined in Article 3, point (1), of Directive 2008/98/EC;
- waste heat
means waste heat as defined in Article 2, point (9), of Directive (EU) 2018/2001;
- wholesale access
means access which enables an operator to utilise the facilities of another operator.
- written
means any form of written document, including electronic documents, provided that such electronic documents are recognised as equivalent under the applicable administrative procedures and legislation in the Member State concerned;”;
- zero-emission vehicle
means: