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IVACE Energy Efficiency Grants: Why Many Industries in the Valencian Community Apply Late and How to Avoid It
- 15/12/2025
- Energy Efficiency Grants
Many industries in the Valencian Community apply too late for IVACE energy efficiency grants. Not because they are not interested in saving energy or modernising their facilities, but because they have not prepared their projects in time. In this reflection, as an energy efficiency consultant, I want to explain why this happens and how you can avoid missing another call by turning IVACE grants into a real lever of competitiveness for your plant.
By Ana González, CEO and Agronomist Engineer – Industrial consultant in energy efficiency and grants management at AGB Ingeniers
Over the last few years, accompanying industrial companies in the Valencian Community in their energy efficiency projects, I have seen the same pattern repeat itself: many arrive late to IVACE grants. Not because they are not interested in energy efficiency, nor because they lack real needs in their electrical installations, industrial climate control, compressed air or production processes. They arrive late because they have not prepared the ground far enough in advance.
The result is frustrating: interesting projects that are left out due to lack of time, incomplete documentation, investments postponed “for the next call” and a widespread feeling of missed opportunity. And yet, IVACE energy efficiency grants are specifically designed to help Valencian industry modernise, reduce energy consumption and gain competitiveness.
In this article, I want to explain, based on my experience as an industrial consultant in energy efficiency and grants management, why so many companies arrive late to these calls and, above all, how to avoid the same happening to you this year, bearing in mind the current submission deadline of 30 December 2025.
Why so many industries apply late for IVACE energy efficiency grants
When we talk about IVACE grants for industrial energy efficiency, the first thing I usually stress is that we are not dealing with a simple administrative form. We are dealing with technical projects that affect the heart of the plant: industrial electrical installations, climate control systems, compressed air, industrial refrigeration, production lines and high-efficiency technologies.
The problem is that many companies start thinking about the grant when the call has already been published and the clock is ticking. In that scenario, several obstacles tend to appear.
The first is the lack of mature projects. Management knows that “we need to improve energy efficiency”, but it has not yet been defined which specific actions make sense: whether to renew compressors, redesign industrial climate control, modernise electrical installations or act on specific processes. Energy efficiency is discussed in general terms, but there is no defined portfolio of projects.
The second obstacle is the time required for a solid technical analysis. Assessing consumption, studying installations, calculating energy savings, selecting technologies, requesting comparable quotations, deciding priorities… None of this is solved in a quick meeting. It requires plant visits, data collection, comparing alternatives and, very often, coordinating maintenance, production and management.
Thirdly, documentation. An IVACE energy efficiency grant file is not built with just an invoice and a quotation. The improvement has to be technically justified, framed within one of the four main action groups (renewal of existing equipment and installations, improvement of the energy performance of industrial processes, incorporation of high-efficiency technologies or new investments that reduce global consumption), and supported with economic information, previous consumption, expected savings and consistency between the technical and financial sides.
When all this is attempted against the clock, the chances that the file will not be ready in time or will lack the necessary quality increase significantly. And this is where many companies are left at the gates of a grant that could have marked a turning point in their competitiveness.
The mistake of thinking about grants only when “they are already published”
There is an approach I see over and over again: the company only moves when it reads that an IVACE grant call has been opened. From that moment on, the rush begins: “What can we submit? Will we make it? Which projects do we have that fit?”. In many cases, the honest answer would be: we are cutting it very fine.
Smart management of industrial energy efficiency is not about improvising a project every time a call opens. It is about working with a medium-term vision, identifying priority actions and maintaining a pipeline of projects that are technically and strategically prepared, ready to take advantage of funding windows when they appear.
When an industry is clear about its energy efficiency projects – for example, renewing its compressed air system, improving its electrical installations, modernising its industrial climate control or implementing high-efficiency technologies in critical processes – reacting to an IVACE call is much easier: it is no longer about inventing the project, but about fitting it into the rules, refining the technical report and preparing the documentation.
On the other hand, when the reflection starts on the very day the grant is published, it is common for the company to end up saying: “This year we won’t make it, we’ll look at it for the next call.” And that “next one” sometimes turns into two or three more years of obsolete installations, excessive consumption and missed opportunities.
How to avoid being late: treating energy efficiency as a strategic line
The way to break this “rush and arrive late” cycle is simple to describe, although it requires a change in mindset: industrial energy efficiency must be placed at a strategic level, not only at an operational one.
The first step is to carry out a basic energy diagnosis of the plant. I am not talking about an academic document that ends up in a drawer, but about a clear X-ray of where and how energy is consumed: electrical installations, industrial climate control, compressed air, refrigeration, thermal processes, motors, production lines. A vision that allows the main areas for improvement to be identified.
From there, it is essential to translate that diagnosis into a list of concrete projects. For example: renewal of compressors with variable speed drives, redesign of industrial climate control in specific areas, improvement of thermal envelopes, replacement of luminaires, implementation of energy monitoring systems, modernisation of electrical panels and motors, incorporation of high-efficiency technologies in key processes.
Each project should have a simple data sheet summarising the basic elements: which problem it solves, what approximate investment it requires, what potential energy savings it offers, which IVACE action group it could fall under and in what time frame it would make sense to implement it.
When a company has this energy efficiency “map”, the conversation changes completely. It is no longer about improvising, but about deciding, together with management, which projects to prioritise according to the call, the annual investment budget and the internal capacity to manage them.
The four main IVACE action groups as a planning guide
IVACE energy efficiency grants are structured into four major action groups, and understanding them well is very helpful to stay focused.
The first, renewal of existing equipment and installations, allows action to be taken on elements that we know are outdated: old climate control systems, inefficient compressors, low-efficiency motors, electrical installations that cause losses or panels that have become obsolete.
The second, improvement of the energy performance of industrial processes, focuses on how we work, not only on what we work with. Here we find actions where process design, control and regulation enable significant savings: automation of certain steps, advanced temperature control, adjustments in pumping or ventilation systems, optimisation of production cycles.
The third, incorporation of high-efficiency technologies, opens the door to more advanced solutions: variable-speed drives, industrial aerothermal systems, VRF/VRV systems, real-time energy monitoring, heat recovery, among others.
And the fourth, new investments that reduce overall energy consumption, allows for deeper reforms: complete redesign of industrial climate control, energy reorganisation of the plant, expansions that are conceived from the outset with efficiency criteria built into the project.
If we align our internal energy efficiency planning with these four groups, we approach IVACE calls with much greater clarity: we know which projects fit, with what arguments, and how to justify the improvement technically.
The role of expert support: from diagnosis to justification
Another reason why many companies arrive late is that they try to handle the entire process on their own: diagnosis, solution design, supplier selection, report drafting, submission and justification. This is not always realistic, especially if the internal team is already overloaded with day-to-day operations.
At AGB Ingeniers, we have seen that the most effective way to work is to support the company from the outset. First, by helping to identify energy efficiency projects that make industrial and economic sense. Then, by defining the most suitable technical solutions. And finally, by preparing and processing IVACE grants rigorously, maximising the chances of approval and minimising the administrative burden on the company.
When this support is provided before the call opens, the work stops being done “in a rush” and becomes an orderly roadmap. And when the submission deadline arrives – such as 30 December 2025 – the company is not improvising; it is executing a plan that has been maturing for months.
We are still in time… but now is the moment to decide
The good news is that, although many industries still feel they are behind, in most cases it is still possible to react if clear decisions are made and what is important is prioritised. The submission deadline for IVACE energy efficiency grants up to 30 December 2025 is a milestone, but it can also be the starting point for changing how your company relates to energy efficiency.
My recommendation, based on experience with many companies in the Valencian Community, is very clear: do not wait to have “free time” to think about energy efficiency. That moment rarely comes. Instead, decide that industrial energy efficiency is a strategic line of the company, set aside time to analyse it calmly and surround yourself with the right support to turn IVACE grants into a real lever of competitiveness.
Because in the end, the companies that get to grants on time are not those that run the fastest at the last minute, but those that have prepared in advance. And that change of approach is, today, entirely in your hands.