Ordinance creates incentives for sustainable mobility in Alentejo Litoral

The Government has approved Ordinance No. 394/2026/2, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 178, of September 14, 2026, which adopts the Specific Regulation of the Incentive System for Sustainable Local Mobility in Alentejo Litoral, framed within Portugal 2030. The decree, signed on September 2 by the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, enters into force on the day following its publication.

The regulation was approved by a resolution of the Interministerial Coordination Commission of Portugal 2030, dated July 2, 2026, and proposed by the managing authority of the Alentejo 2030 Regional Program, having been jointly developed with the Agency for Development and Cohesion, I. P., as the technical coordination body. The system is funded by the Just Transition Fund, created by Regulation (EU) 2021/1056 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 24, 2021.

Objective and territorial framework

The system is part of the Territorial Just Transition Plan (TJTP) of Alentejo Litoral (NUTS PT181), which responds to the impacts of the region’s transition resulting from the closure of the Sines thermoelectric power plant. The objective is to increase sustainable local mobility, minimizing the risk of increased emissions due to the higher flow of worker commutes, through zero-emission buses (electric or hydrogen) and their respective charging or refueling infrastructures, within the scope of the public road passenger transport service.

The support is framed within Priority 6A “Just Transition Fund” and specific objective 8.1 of the Alentejo 2030 Regional Program, aligned with the Union’s energy and climate goals for 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.

Beneficiaries and funding

Eligible entities include municipalities, the intermunicipal community, and public transport operators providing municipal or intermunicipal collective road passenger transport services in the territory of Alentejo Litoral. The funding per beneficiary and per operation has a maximum allocation of € 4,500,000.00, with a maximum co-financing rate of 100% of eligible expenses, in the form of a real cost grant.

• Acquisition of clean buses (electric or hydrogen, categories M2 or M3);
• Investment in electricity charging and/or hydrogen refueling infrastructures;
• Infrastructure expenses limited to 20% of the total eligible expenditure of the operation;
• Support not cumulative with other grants of the same nature for the same expenses.

Conditions and obligations

Applications are submitted within the scope of calls for proposals, through a competitive bidding procedure, with objective selection criteria published at least six weeks before the deadline. At least 70% of the selection criteria must be defined based on the project’s contribution to the environmental objectives of the measure.

Beneficiaries must begin the execution of the operation within a maximum period of 90 working days and maintain the buses and infrastructure assigned to the activity for at least five years (or three, in the case of SMEs). Hydrogen refueling infrastructures must ensure that, by December 31, 2035, they will provide only renewable hydrogen, respecting the “Do No Significant Harm” principle.

Relevance to the region

The measure represents a decisive step in the decarbonization of public transport in Alentejo Litoral, one of the regions most affected by the energy transition following the closure of the Sines power plant. By 100% financing the fleet renewal for zero-emission vehicles, the system strengthens the offer and quality of collective transport, promoting the use of public transport and the incorporation of renewable energies in a low-density territory seeking to attract and retain workers.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 178, of September 14, 2026 (official reference: Portaria n.º 394/2026/2).