Slovakia Act 31/2024 — new §28a/§28b exceptional investment aid instrument implementing the EU TCTF €1 billion net-zero state-aid scheme

Mechanism

Act No. 31/2024 Z.z. amends the Slovak Regional Investment Aid Act (57/2018 Z.z.) by inserting two new articles:

§28a — Mimoriadna investičná pomoc (Exceptional Investment Aid): Creates a sui-generis state-aid instrument outside the prior regional-investment-aid framework, designed to channel large-scale grants to strategic-sector investments that exceed the thresholds or conditions of standard regional aid. This section establishes the procedural and institutional architecture for granting exceptional aid — eligibility assessment by MHSR, mandatory notification to the European Commission, and individual government-decree authorisation for each award.

§28b — Exceptional Investment Aid in Sectors Strategic for the Transition to a Climate-Neutral Economy: Operationalises the national legal basis for disbursing the TCTF-approved €1 billion envelope. Eligible investments cover the production of:

• Batteries (including cell-level manufacturing and pack assembly)
• Solar photovoltaic panels
• Wind turbines
• Heat pumps
• Electrolysers (for green hydrogen)
• Carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) equipment
• Key components designed and primarily used as direct inputs to the above
• Critical raw materials (CRM) recovery and processing necessary for the above

Aid parameters:

• Maximum aid per project: €350 million (general districts); €150 million (Bratislava region)
• Aid intensity: 15–60% of eligible investment costs, depending on enterprise size and

geographic location (SMEs receive a higher intensity premium; assisted regions receive uplift)

• Temporal window: limited to 2024–2025 under the TCTF framework
• Individual awards require separate EC approval (State Aid notification) and government decree

EC pre-approval: The underlying €1 billion Slovak TCTF scheme was approved by DG COMP on 15 December 2023 — the legal enabling condition for §28b to operate. Act 31/2024 is the implementing domestic legislation publishing that scheme into Slovak law.

Downstream implications

• Parent statute for future SK large-scale net-zero awards: Any Slovak battery gigafactory,

electrolyser plant, or clean-tech manufacturing award in 2024–2025 must route through §28b. This is the upstream statutory anchor that will appear in the responds_to field of future individual-award filings.

• Largest CEE TCTF envelope outside Germany and France: The €1 billion ceiling (with

€350M/project maximum) positions Slovakia as the primary CEE destination for TCTF-eligible battery and clean-tech FDI. Gotion-InoBat (Šurany gigafactory, cited in MHSR briefings as a target beneficiary) and future electrolyser entrants are the headline candidates.

• Structural peer to Hungary TCTF (2023-08-30) and Portugal RCM-49/2024 (2024-03-26): Part

of the EU-wide wave of TCTF national-implementing legislation. Slovakia's scheme is notable for its geographic concentration in the automotive/battery belt east of Bratislava.

• Distinct from the Volvo Cars Valaliky award (2024-04-08-slovakia-volvo-cars-bev-valaliky-state-aid):

That award was authorised under the prior §35a regional-aid track; §28b awards flow through a separate TCTF-specific track with a higher individual ceiling and different intensity schedule.

• CRM-processing eligibility extends upstream: The explicit inclusion of CRM recovery/processing

means refinery or precursor-chemistry investments can qualify — not just cell or panel assembly. This broadens the Slovak supply-chain node addressable by the scheme relative to earlier TCTF national implementations.

Open questions

• Gotion-InoBat Šurany gigafactory: MHSR briefings identify this as a target beneficiary of

§28b. Individual EC notification and government decree have not yet been confirmed as filed. File a separate action when the individual EC approval is published.

• Post-2025 continuity: The TCTF time-limited framework expired end-2025. The Net Zero Industry

Act (EU) 2024/1735 and successor State Aid instruments will govern future waves — monitor whether Slovakia introduces a §28c or amends §28b to reference the NZIA framework.

• Aid intensity schedule: The 15–60% range per KPMG reporting needs confirmation against the

official EC approval decision (SA case number to be verified from the DG COMP State Aid Register).