The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) promotes measures to increase energy efficiency.
You can receive funding for the following measures:

• for the construction of facilities to utilize geothermal energy,
• for production and injection wells to tap geothermal energy at a drilling depth of more than 400 meters for heat generation or for combined electricity and heat generation,
• for additional expenditure for boreholes with special technical risks.

You will not receive funding

• for exploratory drilling,
• for self-built plants and used plants,
• for prototypes (plants of which there are fewer than 4 units),
• if you are a manufacturer of eligible installations or their main components,
• for trust constructions,
• for so-called in-sure transactions, such as the purchase from the property of a spouse,
• for debt rescheduling and subsequent financing of measures already started,
• if you have already started the measure before submitting the application.

The federal government, the federal states and their institutions are also not eligible.
If you develop deep geothermal energy and use it sustainably, you can obtain a loan of up to EUR 25 million. You can get a loan for up to 80 percent of the eligible costs of your measure.

The amount of the subsidy for the repayment of the loan depends on the type and use of your measure:

Measures exclusively for heat generation

• Plant subsidy:
  • You receive EUR 200 per kilowatt (kW) of installed or extended nominal heat output. You can receive a maximum subsidy of EUR 2 million.
    
• Drilling cost support:
  • for drilling depths from 400 meters to 1,000 meters below, you receive a subsidy of EUR 375 for each meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • for drilling depths between 1,000 meters and 2,500 meters below, you receive a subsidy of EUR 500 for every meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • from a drilling depth of 2,500 meters, you will receive a subsidy of EUR 750 for every meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance).
    
    You will receive a maximum subsidy of EUR 2.5 million for a deep well. You can drill up to 4 deep wells in total. You can therefore receive a maximum subsidy of EUR 10 million.
    
• Additional expenses for deep boreholes with particular technical risk:
  • For deep wells with a particular technical risk, you will receive up to 50 percent of the additional costs incurred for each well (but no more than 50 percent of the previously planned costs).
    
    You will receive a grant of up to EUR 1.25 million for a well with a particular technical risk. In total, you may drill up to 4 deep boreholes for your project. You can therefore receive a maximum grant of EUR 5 million.

Measures for combined electricity and heat generation

• Plant promotion:
  • The amount of your subsidy depends on the gross electrical output (P) and the nominal heat output (Q). The subsidy is calculated as follows: (1-(P/Q))*EUR 200 per kilowatt of nominal heat output installed or extended. You can receive a maximum subsidy of EUR 1 million.
    
• Drilling cost support:
  • for drilling depths from 400 meters to 1,000 meters, you receive a subsidy of EUR 375 for every meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • for drilling depths between 1,000 meters and 2,500 meters, you receive a subsidy of EUR 500 for each meter of vertical depth (not drilling distance),
  • from a drilling depth of 2,500 meters you will no longer receive a subsidy.
  • You receive up to EUR 975,000 in subsidies for deep drilling.
    
    You may drill up to a total of 4 deep wells in your project. You can receive a maximum grant of EUR 3.9 million.
• Additional expenses for deep wells with a particular technical risk:
  • For deep wells with a particular technical risk, you will receive up to 50 percent of the additional costs incurred for each well (but no more than 50 percent of the previously planned costs).
    
    You will receive a grant of up to EUR 1.25 million for a well with a particular technical risk. In total, you may drill up to 4 deep boreholes for your project. You can receive a maximum grant of EUR 5 million.

If you

• a company
  • with less than 250 employees
    and
  • less than EUR 50 million annual turnover have
    and
• the heat and/or energy produced by your measure is used for the operation of a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME),

then your grant increases by a total of 10 percent.

You will only receive the repayment grant once you have completed your measure. You must provide proof of this:

• that you have spent the money from the loan on the measure,
• that the measure technically fulfills its purpose.

You must keep all invoices and receipts relating to the eligible costs.

Applications for funding are processed by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

You have no claim to approval of the funding.

Note for small companies:
Small companies with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover of no more than EUR 10 million can also apply for a loan with repayment subsidy via the "Renewable Energies - Premium" promotional program (KfW promotional loan for renewable energy - deep geothermal energy (Premium) - No. 272/282 Approval for small companies (282)).