VAP (Efficiency-Improving Project) Grant for Burner Renewal: A Guide

What is VAP?

VAP is a mechanism for funding, through grants, investment projects at industrial sites that improve the technical performance of existing energy systems, deliver measurable energy savings, and have a proven economic feasibility. The programme covers the replacement, rehabilitation and process optimisation of energy-intensive, low-efficiency equipment (fans, pumps, boilers, furnaces, compressed air systems, etc.).

2026 grant structure: rate, cap and payment

• Grant rate: up to 30% of the project cost is covered by grant.
• Cap: for 2026, the support cap per project is set at 27,092,663 TRY.
• Number of projects: a business can apply with up to 5 projects simultaneously.
• Payment structure: 50% of the grant is paid at the start of the project, the remaining 50% on completion.
• Payback period criterion: a project's economic feasibility is assessed on payback period — generally capped at 7 years; cogeneration, waste-heat-to-electricity, and renewable heat-generation projects are capped at 10 years.
• Audit fees: for 2026, the pre-implementation audit fee is 60,000 TRY + VAT, and the post-implementation audit fee is 95,000 TRY + VAT.

Important recent change: the minimum unit energy savings requirement previously in place (150 kW for industry, 50 kW for other sectors) was removed as of 2026 — there is currently no minimum savings threshold.

Eligibility requirements

• The site is registered on EVDES (the Energy Efficiency Support System)
• An energy manager is designated under the applicable legislation
• The applicant holds a TÜRKAK-accredited ISO 50001 Energy Management System certificate
• Project development and implementation is carried out through an authorised Energy Efficiency Consultancy (EVD) firm
• Performance indicators are reported regularly and verifiably (an energy monitoring system may be required)

Does burner/boiler renewal qualify for VAP?

The programme explicitly lists boilers under "replacement and rehabilitation of energy-intensive, low-efficiency equipment." A boiler room's efficiency-improving revision — for example, replacing an old, low-efficiency burner with a new modulating, low-NOx burner, with the resulting measurable fuel saving demonstrated through an energy audit — is a project type that can fall within the general scope.

Important caveat: this is not an automatic entitlement. Whether a specific project qualifies for VAP must be established concretely through the energy audit and feasibility report prepared by the EVD firm.

Projects excluded from VAP

The following project types are not eligible for VAP support:

• Projects already implemented or already underway
• Investments in used/second-hand equipment — see our used burner guide
• Work carried out through leasing arrangements
• Fuel conversion projects — this means projects such as a gas conversion fall outside VAP's scope
• Projects related to establishing new facilities
• Vehicle purchase investments
• Cogeneration or renewable energy projects where the heat or electricity produced is intended for sale

The end-to-end application process

1. An authorised EVD firm carries out an energy audit at the site
2. The VAP project file is prepared and submitted to the Ministry through EVDES
3. Technical evaluation and pre-implementation audit stages are carried out
4. The project is implemented
5. Final audit and savings verification take place
6. The grant is paid out