Wie EFRE NRW voranbringt: Das Förderprogramm verstehen

ERDF NRW briefly explained

Every region in Europe has its own special character and faces individual challenges for the future. One of the aims of European structural or cohesion policy is to promote the strengths of the regions and compensate for imbalances. The European Regional Development Fund - ERDF for short - is an important part of this policy and one of the EU's central measures.

The EU is making around 1.9 billion euros available for North Rhine-Westphalia in the 2021-2027 funding period from the ERDF and the Just Transition Fund (JTF), the fund for the just transition of coal regions. From the Rhineland to East Westphalia, in the Ruhr metropolis and the Bergisch and Münsterland districts, in the city and the regions: ERDF is driving North Rhine-Westphalia forward with targeted funding for innovative ideas and impetus for a sustainable and competitive future.

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Priorities of the ERDF/JTF program NRW 2021-2027

In order to drive forward the green transformation and digitalization as well as to strengthen infrastructure and cooperation, North Rhine-Westphalia and the EU are using ERDF and JTF funds to support projects in the following six areas. The target groups are in particular small and medium-sized enterprises, universities and research institutions as well as municipalities.

Innovation and research

We contribute to the targeted promotion of innovation in NRW with research and start-up-friendly offers. This enables new research findings to be implemented in the economy.

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Foundation and digitization

Founders who would like professional advice for their project or want to bring their products to market receive support for their business start-up through the ERDF/JTF program.

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Climate protection and climate adaptation

Making a contribution to the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and to a green Europe - these are the goals of the funding priority "Climate protection and adaptation".

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City and region

The ERDF-JTF NRW program offers a wide range of funding opportunities for sustainable urban development, future-proof mobility and tourist experiences - to meet the challenges of change.

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Transformation in coal regions

The aim of the EU Just Transition Fund (JTF) is to shape the transition to a climate-neutral European economy in the Rhenish mining area and parts of the northern Ruhr region.

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Strategic technologies

The objectives of the new EU STEP regulation are to support the development or production of critical technologies for the ecological and digital transformation and to secure the corresponding value chains.

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Progress of the ERDF/JTF program in NRW

Developing ideas, promoting projects, implementing plans, demonstrating paths and developing potential in North Rhine-Westphalia - this is how ERDF is intended to advance NRW and make it fit for the future through investment. ERDF funding covers the entire state of North Rhine-Westphalia. JTF funding is limited to the areas that are particularly affected by the coal phase-out: in the Rhenish mining area, the Aachen city region, the independent city of Mönchengladbach, the districts of Düren and Heinsberg, the Rhine-Erft district and the Rhine district of Neuss and, in the northern Ruhr area, the independent city of Bottrop and the district towns of Dorsten, Gladbeck and Marl. Find out more about the progress of the program in the current funding period.

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ERDF.NRW 2014-2020: What ERDF NRW has already achieved

In the completed funding period between 2014 and 2020, more than 11,000 projects received support for their forward-looking projects through European regional funding in North Rhine-Westphalia. Key areas of focus included innovation, urban development, climate protection and climate resilience.

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ERDF NRW in detail

From the legal basis to the progress of the program - further information on the funding program is available on the "ERDF/JTF transparency" page.

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ERDF/JTF Program NRW in Europe

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Just Transition Fund (JTF), together with the European Social Fund (ESF), are important funding instruments of the EU's regional and cohesion policy. You can also discover EU projects in North Rhine-Westphalia in the Kohesio knowledge database.