Conto Termico 3.0
Conto Termico 3.0 has been in force since 25 December 2025. It is the new GSE incentive for energy efficiency and renewable thermal energy, with a budget of 900 million euro a year.
The change that matters most to companies: businesses and service sector activities can now claim a non-repayable grant of up to 65% for work on the building envelope and on the plant, no longer only for the renewable part.
Conto Termico 3.0: what changes for businesses
Conto Termico is the Italian incentive scheme, managed by the energy services operator GSE, that funds energy efficiency work and the production of thermal energy from renewable sources through a non-repayable grant. The third version stems from the decree of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security of 7 August 2025, published in the Official Journal on 26 September 2025 and in force since 25 December 2025. Applications are filed through the GSE PortalTermico.
Who can apply
The scheme is open to a wider audience than Conto Termico 2.0. Public authorities and the bodies treated as such remain eligible, and businesses and service sector activities now qualify in full, since they can claim the grant for work on the building envelope and on the plant, not only for the renewable part. Private owners can apply for renewable thermal energy production, and so can third sector organisations, renewable energy communities and collective self-consumption groups.
Eligible works
On the plant side the scheme covers electric and gas heat pumps, hybrid systems, biomass generators, solar thermal and solar cooling, heat pump water heaters and connections to district heating networks. On the building side it covers insulation of roofs and walls, replacement of windows, solar shading, efficient lighting, building automation systems, charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and photovoltaic with storage when it accompanies work on the thermal plant.
How much the grant is worth
The grant is non-repayable and reaches up to 65% of eligible costs. Rates and spending caps change with the type of work and the type of applicant, so the benefit has to be assessed case by case. The annual budget is 900 million euro: 400 million for public authorities and the third sector, 500 million for private applicants, of which 150 million are reserved for businesses, plus 20 million dedicated to energy audits and energy performance certificates. Payment is made in equal annual instalments, two or five depending on the size of the measure, while smaller amounts are paid in a single instalment.
Eligible applicants
| Applicant | Energy efficiency | Renewable thermal energy | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public authorities and equivalent bodies | Yes | Yes | Up to 100% for state schools, national health service facilities and municipalities with up to 15,000 residents |
| Non-commercial third sector organisations | Yes | Yes | Treated as public authorities |
| Businesses and service sector activities | Yes | Yes | New in version 3.0: efficiency work was previously closed to private applicants. Rates depend on company size |
| Third sector organisations carrying out economic activity | Yes | Yes | Treated as businesses |
| Private owners and residential buildings | No | Yes | Renewable thermal energy production only |
| Renewable energy communities and collective self-consumption | Yes | Yes | Subject to the conditions set by the operating rules |
| Companies in difficulty | Excluded | Excluded | Exclusion set by the decree |
Works and grants for businesses
| Eligible work | Grant |
|---|---|
| Energy efficiency (Title II) | |
| Thermal insulation of roofs, walls and floors | 25% of eligible costs for a single measure, 30% within a combined project, up to a maximum of 65% with the increases for small and medium-sized enterprises |
| Replacement of windows and glazed elements | As above |
| Solar shading and screening systems | As above |
| Efficient lighting and building automation | As above |
| Charging infrastructure for electric vehicles | As above |
| Photovoltaic with storage, combined with work on the thermal plant | As above |
| Conversion of the building into an NZEB | As above |
| Renewable thermal energy (Title III) | |
| Electric and gas heat pumps | 45% as a base rate, with an increase of 20 points for small enterprises and 10 points for medium-sized ones. The cap is 65% for small, 55% for medium and 45% for large companies |
| Hybrid and bivalent systems | As above |
| Biomass generators | As above |
| Solar thermal and solar cooling | As above |
| Heat pump water heaters | As above |
| Connection to an efficient district heating network | As above |
The rates shown are those set by the decree for applicants carrying out an economic activity. The actual figure depends on the measure, on the size of the company and on the spending caps: we check it at design stage.
Works and grants for public authorities
| Eligible work or condition | Grant |
|---|---|
| Energy efficiency: building envelope, windows, shading, lighting, building automation, NZEB conversion, electric vehicle charging, photovoltaic with storage | Up to 65% of eligible costs |
| Renewable thermal energy: heat pumps, hybrid systems, biomass, solar thermal, water heaters, district heating | Up to 65% of eligible costs |
| State school buildings and National Health Service facilities | Up to 100% |
| Buildings owned by municipalities with up to 15,000 residents, used for public services or community activities | Up to 100% |
| Energy audit and post-work energy performance certificate | Covered within the dedicated allocation of 20 million euro a year |
| Advance booking of the grant | Reserved to public authorities: advance payment at the start, an interim instalment and the balance once the work is completed |
Municipalities under 15,000 residents and sensitive buildings
Municipalities with up to 15,000 residents. Work on municipal buildings used for public services or community activities can be covered in full. For a small municipality this means replacing the heating plant of a gym, a town hall or a library without committing its own budget.
State schools. The same coverage of up to 100% applies to school buildings, where ageing plant and high consumption usually go together and the works have to fit tight schedules.
Public healthcare facilities. Buildings of the National Health Service fall into the same band. This is the field we have worked in longest, across hospitals, clinics and care homes, where the plant can never stop and the service has to keep running throughout the site works.
How to apply
The standard route is direct access, with the application filed once the work is complete, within the deadline set by the operating rules. Booking the grant in advance, which allows an advance payment before the work starts, is reserved to public authorities and requires an energy audit or a formal administrative act.
Access strategies: getting the most out of the grant
Conto Termico rewards those who come prepared. The rules leave room for manoeuvre that, used well, changes the share of the cost left with the company or the public body.
Think in terms of combined projects rather than isolated jobs. Presenting several connected measures earns a higher rate than a single job on its own. Replacing the heating plant and, within the same project, insulating the roof and renewing the lighting pays better than spreading the same work over different years.
Make company size count. On renewable energy plant, small enterprises gain twenty percentage points over the base rate and medium-sized ones gain ten. It is worth checking before deciding which company applies, especially in groups with more than one legal entity.
Choose components made in Europe. The operating rules grant a bonus for components produced within the European Union. The supplier has to be chosen at the start, not once the project is closed.
Keep an eye on timing. The annual budget is fixed and GSE closes applications once it is used up. Between two equivalent projects, the one filed first gets paid. Public authorities can use the advance booking to receive a payment before the work starts, avoiding an outlay of their own, but this requires an energy audit or an administrative act already in place.
Include the studies and reduce the outlay. The energy audit and the post-work energy performance certificate have a dedicated allocation, so it makes sense to claim them together with the measure. Collection of the grant can also be assigned to a third party, for example to the E.S.Co. carrying out the work: the incentive then does not pass through the client’s accounts and the initial outlay drops. Grants up to 15,000 euro are paid in a single instalment, which is worth bearing in mind when deciding how to split a project.
Check what can be combined. Incentives cannot simply be stacked on the same measure. Before starting we compare Conto Termico, tax deductions and the other schemes available, and choose the most convenient route for the case at hand.
Our role
Ecoenergy is an E.S.Co. certified to the UNI CEI 11352 standard. We follow the project from end to end: consumption analysis and energy audit, design, GSE paperwork, installation and maintenance in the years that follow. Where it makes sense we propose an energy performance contract, in which the saving we promise becomes part of the agreement. If you want to know which measures fall under Conto Termico 3.0 and how much you can recover, write to info@ecoenergy.it or call +39 0965 1970000.
The stages of the grant
1
Application for the advance grantAssessment procedure and payment of the advance.
Advance50%
2
Submission of the energy auditWithin 12 months of the application being accepted.
SubmitEA
3
Balance on submission of the requestFor at least one of the measures identified in the audit.
Balance50%
The advance is paid at the start of the process, the balance only after the request to carry out at least one of the measures identified by the audit has been submitted.
The information on this page is indicative. Rates, caps and deadlines are those set by the decree and by the GSE operating rules, which remain the official reference.
Ask us about Conto Termico 3.0
Tell us in a couple of lines about the building and the plant.
We will assess which measures fall under the incentive and how much you can recover.
