Transition 5.0: Zero resources and a reflection on the future of renewable energy incentives

The Transition Plan 5.0 , established by Article 38 of Legislative Decree 2/2024, aimed to support Italian companies in their digital and energy transformation , facilitating investments in efficiency, self-consumption, renewables and more sustainable production processes.

With an initial budget of around 6.3 billion euros , the plan was revised and, on 7 November 2025, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy officially communicated that the available resources had been exhausted .

Applications remain open until December 31, 2025 , but with the understanding that any new communications will be managed "in queue" in chronological order should additional resources emerge.

Impacts on the renewable energy and climate-energy sector

For the world of renewable energy and energy efficiency, the early closure of the plan raises a series of technical and design considerations. Companies and professionals must now consider the following:

• The grant window has narrowed, requiring speed in planning and submitting applications.
• Prioritizing interventions that generate self-consumption or production from renewable sources becomes even more strategic, because energy efficiency in a production process takes on a key role.
• The incentive-regulatory context is being reorganized , with clear signs of the need to move from mere incentives to the structural integration of renewables, storage, digitalization and demand management.

For designers, installers, and operators in the climate and systems sector, this means planning investments with a view to scalable solutions , integrated use of renewable sources, and flexible industrial setup.

Towards the new roadmap: what's changing and what to consider

With the resources of the Transition 5.0 plan reduced to zero, we are moving towards a new chapter of tools to support businesses' energy transition . In this transition, some strategic guidelines emerge as fundamental:

• Strengthen self-production from renewables and self-consumption , connected to storage systems and intelligent load management.
• Integrate energy efficiency and distributed generation into a systemic vision of the industrial/air conditioning plant, rather than treating them as separate interventions.
• Prepare for evolving EU legislation and regulations, which will require more integrated and flexible tools capable of adapting to emerging markets and technologies.

In summary, the 2024-25 two-year period provides useful experience: the next step will be to build an intervention model that depends not only on end-of-cycle funding, but on a stable structure of incentives, technologies, and projects sustainable in the medium to long term.