Aid for research, development and innovation (RDI), for environmental and climate protection, in favour of SMEs, in favour of business startups, in favour of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, to compensate for the rise in energy prices, and tax relief: economy minister Lex Delles (DP) drew up a veritable inventory on Wednesday 2 July of the aid granted by his ministry to businesses.

“This is the first time that the report has covered all the aid granted by all the directorates-general of the ministry of the economy, from micro-businesses to very large companies. This follows the creation in 2024 of a central directorate-general, the ‘Aides’ directorate-general, which now brings together all state aid granted by the ministry of the economy,” says a ministry spokesperson.

The review that Delles presented last year only concerned the part of the SME directorate general (formerly “middle classes”). For this first presentation in this form, there is a slight drop in aid to businesses in 2024, to €263m (traditional aid schemes + energy aid scheme).

“Huge” lever effect

So-called traditional aid amounts are down slightly, to €224m in 2024, whilst the number of applications processed came to 1,895, almost the same as in 2023. The aid scheme to compensate for rising energy prices is also down, at €39m, compared with €83m in 2023. In 2024, 1,492 applications processed (compared to 1,657 in 2023).

€180m of the classic aids were linked to an investment. “These generated a total investment of €550m. This proves that state investment in companies has a huge leverage effect on investment in Luxembourg,” says Delles.

For example, three-quarters of the aid scheme for research, development and innovation benefited SMEs, to the tune of €93m, which generated total investment of €173m, i.e., almost twice as much. In particular, there were calls for strategic projects such as HPC, 5G and cybersecurity, as well as the Fit4Start programme (20 applications processed for a total amount of aid of €3m).

Strong increase in applications from SMEs

For the environmental and climate protection aid scheme (calls for projects), 106 applications were processed for a total of €52m and €196m of investment generated. “Calls for projects under [this] aid scheme have contributed to the installation of photovoltaic capacity equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of some 3,500 households. In this context, a sharp increase in applications from SMEs should be noted, rising from 20% of applications in 2019, to 50% in 2024,” the minister adds.

With regard to the energy aid scheme--set up to compensate for the rise in energy prices and which consisted of a crisis instrument put in place between 2022 and 2024 with a view to covering the additional costs of energy (electricity, gas, diesel) for businesses--it has enabled €131m to be granted to businesses, mostly SMEs. A total of 3,374 applications were processed.

Another popular scheme is the aid for first-time business startups, introduced in July 2023. “It was a great success in 2024, with 305 applications processed and €2.3m in aid granted,” explains Delles. Two young beneficiary entrepreneurs--Dovilė Jasiulevičiūtė (Coconut Pets) and Philippe Schmit (Social Cooling)--shared their experiences at the press conference.

Almost €800m invested cumulatively

Another aid granted by the ministry of the economy that generates investment from businesses: the tax subsidy. “Following the agreement between the government and the social partners to reform the investment tax credit with a view to accelerating the ecological, energy and digital transition, this 18% tax credit concerns projects spread over the 2024 to 2026 tax years in the banking, insurance, craft, logistics, manufacturing and consultancy sectors,” adds the ministry’s press release.

As a result, 56 dossiers were processed, giving rise to €44m in tax credits and generating a total investment of €246m. If we add together the €550m invested through traditional aid and the €246m invested through the tax subsidy, this represents almost €800m invested by businesses thanks to state support.

Among the prospects for the development of aid schemes, Delles cited support for the dual transition (ecological and digital), administrative simplification and improved accessibility for SMEs. In particular, the minister detailed the Act of 6 June 2025 aimed at renewing aid schemes for research, development and innovation.

This article was originally published in French.