Germany: 70% funding for HEERO eMinibuses retrospectively
Read the following HEERO update or request the HEERO whitepaper on minibus funding "Funding Call 2025 E-Buses."
The topic briefly and concisely
Funding call "Alternative Drives for Buses": up to 70% funding of the additional costs compared to diesel buses, also for conversion; expired on July 21, 2026.
Important dates: The sketch submission via easy-Online ended on August 31, 2025.
Sustainable medium-low-floor transit buses: With a range of over 300 km and a battery capacity of 137 kWh, your scheduled service becomes locally emission-free and also more economical with HEERO eMinibuses.
With the funding call of July 7, 2025, the Federal Ministry of Transport also supported the procurement of HEERO mid-low floor eMinibuses (M3 Class A) for transport companies in Germany.
Although you will be surprised by our purchase price, this offered helpful support for the transition to e-mobility in public transport. You would certainly not have had to claim the maximum funding rate of up to a €360,000 grant per new vehicle. The call has closed; we will clarify which funding is currently open on a case-by-case basis.
If you are interested, we would also be happy to send you all the gathered information as a whitepaper - a short message is sufficient > Request whitepaper.
Fourth BMV funding call 2025 explained briefly
The Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) supported the procurement of battery-electric buses through the bus funding guideline. We attended the online seminar to report on how the funding rounds were structured and what applied to the application process.
Funding calls in retrospect: The federal government launched several rounds of e-bus funding to bring more electric buses onto the roads. The most recent call ran from May 26 to July 21, 2026 and has expired.
Subsidy rates: Battery-electric buses (including electric small and midibuses such as the HEERO eMinibus) were funded with up to 70% of the additional costs compared to diesel in the case of a low degree of electrification, otherwise 55% - expressly also conversions from diesel to electric drive (HEERO conversion).
Infrastructure included: Charging infrastructure and workshop conversions for e-buses were also subsidized (usually 40% of the costs), meaning that not only the vehicles but the entire system was eligible for funding.
Competitive procedure: Funding was allocated according to quality criteria - CO₂ savings, deployment concept, and electrification rate were among the selection criteria. Companies had to submit a coherent overall concept. A total of around 500 million euros was available in the 2026 call.
Proven program: Nationwide, more than 250 transport companies have already benefited from the funding – around 3,500 e-buses have been approved, with over 1,000 of them already in service. The program was central to the goal that by 2030, every second bus will run electrically.
Background: Climate Goals and Demand for E-Buses
The transition to locally emission-free buses is a key element for climate-friendly mobility in cities. At the end of 2024, there were only about 3,375 e-buses operating in Germany – this corresponds to just under 10% of the city bus fleet, meaning there is a significant need to catch up.
The federal government has therefore set the goal of having every second city bus run electrically by 2030. Pressure is also mounting at the EU level: The Clean Vehicles Directive mandates that from 2026, 65% of all newly procured public transport buses must be "clean", with at least 32.5% being completely emission-free (zero-emission).
To meet these requirements and promote the accelerated market launch of electric buses, the BMDV has been financially supporting the purchase of electric vehicles in public transport since 2021. Following three successfully completed calls (2021–2023), the fourth funding call for 2025 for e-buses was launched.
This funding program is a milestone: Already over 1,000 battery-electric buses are in operation thanks to BMDV subsidies. Together, they avoid around 830,000 tonnes of CO₂ over their lifetime. In total, around 3,500 e-buses have been approved since 2021, distributed among approximately 250 municipal and private transport companies throughout Germany.
Projects to date show how the funding reduces investment barriers. From large cities like Berlin - where the BVG was able to double its e-bus fleet to over 400 vehicles by 2025 thanks to federal funding - to smaller cities (e.g., Konstanz, which aimed to electrify half of its bus fleet by 2025), operators benefited from the subsidies. The market supply of electric buses is growing and prices are falling for everyone who makes the switch now.
With the 4th funding call in 2025, the Ministry of Transport provided further funds to consolidate this trend and bring even more battery-electric buses - including mini- and midibuses - onto the streets.
For providers of innovative solutions such as the HEERO eMinibus, this meant that a significant portion of the investment expenditure could be covered by subsidies - a decisive incentive to electrify the fleet in the near future.
Funding Program 2025: Terms and Eligible Items
What was funded?
The focus was on battery-electric buses in passenger transport - from standard and articulated buses (M3 class) to minibuses (M2 class) for public transport, shuttles, or company transport.
New in 2025 was that, in addition to new procurement, the conversion of existing diesel buses to electric drive was also eligible for funding. This opened up the possibility for operators to transform existing vehicles - for example diesel low-floor rear minibuses - into HEERO eMinibuses via retrofit instead of decommissioning them.
The prerequisite was that the conversion was economically viable (cheaper than a new acquisition or due to a lack of new vehicle options) and met recognized quality standards (the Ministry of Transport recommended compliance with defined minimum standards for conversions).
In addition to the vehicles themselves, the infrastructure for the start of operations of the electric buses was also funded. This included in particular charging facilities at the depot (e.g. depot fast chargers) as well as necessary workshop upgrades (e.g. high-voltage equipment for maintenance). Charging infrastructure not open to the public was eligible for funding as it directly served the operation of the bus fleet.
Tip: The required charging points and modifications had to be realistically dimensioned and justified in the project outline (number of buses, charging capacity, depot layout, etc.) in order to score points in the competitive bidding process.
How high was the funding?
In the 2026 call, the federal government covered up to 70% of the additional investment expenses of an electric bus compared to a diesel bus of the same size/equipment, otherwise 55%. These funding rates applied to battery-electric buses and were within the limits permitted under EU state aid law for climate-friendly drives.
For conversions, the price difference to the diesel drivetrain was not relevant. In the 2026 call, up to 70% of the additional costs were funded, otherwise 55%; the call ended on July 21, 2026. This allowed highly economical solutions to emerge, especially for minibuses. The investment of a HEERO conversion could, in the best-case scenario with funding, amount to only €16,000.
The corresponding charging and workshop infrastructure was subsidized with a flat rate of 40% of the expenses. For example, chargers, transformer stations, or specialized tools could be financed to almost half by the federal government.
Good to know: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) received a bonus of +10 to 20% on both rates if applicable, provided the project could not otherwise be carried out. In the ideal case, a small enterprise could thus receive funding for up to 60% of the additional electric costs. Whether this SME bonus applied had to be justified in the application and compared with the EU definition for SMEs (see SME checklist in the application package).
Legal Basis:
All these conditions were based on the funding guideline "Alternative Drives of Buses in Passenger Transport" of September 7, 2021, which was valid until the end of 2025. The program was formulated in a technology-neutral way, but the focus of this article is exclusively on battery-electric buses (H2 and other fuels are not considered here).
The funding came partly from the federal government's climate fund and partly from EU funds (NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility, RRF), which were provided as co-financing. A total of around €1.2 billion was available for the bus funding program - enough to support thousands of vehicles and the necessary infrastructure. Unused funds from previous calls were carried over into this round, subject to the adoption of the 2025 federal budget.
Application process: This is how the path to funding went
Two-Stage Outline Procedure
The application process is initially carried out not as a complete application, but as a project outline. By July 21, 2026 interested companies had to submit an outline of their project online.
This outline covers all key data: planned number and types of e-buses (or conversions), procurement schedule, planned charging infrastructure, estimated total costs as well as the expected CO₂ savings and electrification rate of the fleet.
Important: In principle, only one outline should be submitted per company, which bundles the entire project (exception: separate outlines if gas buses are also to be funded in addition to e-buses, which we do not consider here).
Public transport authorities (responsible bodies for public transport) who were currently tendering line bundles could also submit outlines - the funding was not limited to transport companies.
Submission Portal:
The outline submission is processed exclusively electronically via the federal portal "easy-Online". For this purpose, you select the corresponding funding program after logging in and fill out an online form.
In addition, attachments specified by the project management organization must be uploaded: a template for the project description (DOCX document) and an Excel calculation of the eligible costs. Both documents are provided by the Projektträger Jülich (PtJ) (links at the end of the post). They can be downloaded together with a checklist on the PtJ website for the call for proposals. It is recommended to work through this checklist point by point in order not to forget any details.
Tip: Offers from manufacturers (price estimates) for buses and chargers do not yet have to be attached to the outline - rough cost estimates are sufficient for now, detailed proof will only follow in the full application. Nevertheless, the figures should be realistic and plausible.
TAN Procedure – Submit Completely Digitally:
Once the outline is filled out in the portal and all attachments have been uploaded, it can be submitted online. A special feature of easy-Online is the TAN procedure for legally valid submission. The person authorized to sign (e.g. management or authority leadership) receives a TAN code via email, which they enter in the portal to digitally sign the submission. This completely eliminates the previously common printout with a manual signature. The process is paperless and accelerated.
If the person authorized to sign does not fill out the application in the portal themselves (but, for example, a clerk or external service provider), the TAN can still be used: In this case, however, a power of attorney from the person authorized to sign is required, which is uploaded as a PDF. Internally, it was therefore necessary to clarify at an early stage who would apply for and redeem the TAN in order to avoid delays at the deadline.
Competitive Selection Procedure:
After the deadline, all submitted outlines were professionally reviewed by the project management organization and NOW GmbH (Nationale Organisation Wasserstoff- und Brennstoffzellentechnologie, commissioned by the BMV). Funding was not granted on a first-come, first-served basis, but according to quality criteria in comparison of all projects.
The following are particularly decisive: the CO₂ savings potential of the project (depending on mileage and electricity mix), the context of use (e.g. city bus, regional, school transport - and whether the depot is located in a low-emission zone), as well as the electrification rate or level of ambition (how large the share of e-buses in the total fleet would be after implementation).
The requested funding demand also plays a role. Projects that manage with less subsidy per ton of CO₂ could have an advantage.
Based on these criteria, a priority list was created. As a rule, the best-evaluated outlines received a provisional funding commitment and were requested to prepare a formal full application. The final funding notifications (approvals) could only be issued once the respective federal budget was decided and in force (according to the BMV in the autumn/winter after the call).
From Outline to Full Application:
If your project outline was approved, the first hurdle was cleared. Now you must submit the detailed application promptly (often within a few weeks). For this purpose, PtJ provides you with the so-called outline project sheet. This is automatically generated from your online outline as soon as you finally submit the outline.
In the full application, binding offers for buses and infrastructure must then be submitted and further detailed questions clarified if necessary. Please note that a separate application is required for each project partner: If, for example, a bus operator procures the vehicles but the city builds the charging infrastructure, two grant applications must be submitted in the application phase (in the outline phase, however, this could be presented together). The project management organization will provide detailed instructions on this.
After Approval:
As soon as the grant notification is received, you can officially start your procurements (previously a spending ban applies). The projects usually have a duration of approx. 2.5 years from approval to order, deliver and put the vehicles into operation.
All funded buses must remain in operation for a certain commitment period (typically at least 5 years in scheduled service to justify the funding - exact deadlines are specified in the notification).
After project completion, you must submit a proof of use, consisting of numerical proof (cost vouchers, invoices) and a factual report on the implementation. Only after examination of this proof is the final amount of the grant determined and a final notification issued.
So plan some resources for accounting and reporting. Funded companies are also requested to participate in accompanying research - for example, by reporting consumption data and operational experience of the e-buses. These findings flow into the further development of the program.
More useful links
● BMDVs press release "Schnieder launches new bus funding call" (July 7th, 2025)
● Project Management Jülich - "Buses with alternative drives" program page
● PtJ - FAQ on bus procurement
● Call 07/2025 (PDF, 4th funding call)
● Amended funding guidelines (PDF, June 26th, 2024)
● NOW GmbH - Info & contact persons
● Article "More electric buses in public transport" (Federal Ministry of Transport)
● Whitepaper "Funding Call 2025 – E-Buses" (We will send it to you if you are interested > Request whitepaper)
