Consortiums allow medium-sized companies access to subsidy programmes. VERS assists with this process.

Due to their size or the number of wagons involved, medium-sized companies have so far lacked access to national and European subsidy programmes. The application process in particular can be very time-consuming for them compared with the potential funding to be gained. The formation of a consortium can be one way to overcome these hurdles. Such a consortium is well suited for efficiently applying for subsidies even in the case of laborious application procedures.

VERS therefore offers to take over leadership of these consortiums and has the legal expertise to develop the necessary contracts that provide a framework for trust-based cooperation between the participating companies.

VERS has achieved initial success with its idea to form a consortium: 2.5 million euros for a total of eight companies have been obtained from the EU programme for supporting the upgrading of loud wagons to quiet brake technology. Individually, many of the participating wagon keepers would not have stood a chance with this Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) subsidy programme. At least 2,000 wagons are required for each applicant in order to apply for the funding. The companies participating in the consortium were able to pool together roughly 8,000 wagons, and subsequently received the offered subsidies for each wagon.

The consortium participants include 8 companies that are focussed in Germany and Luxembourg. 

With CEF-Call 2021, the European Union has established another subsidy programme with comparable conditions. Once again, it was possible to form a consortium under the leadership of VERS to upgrade the required minimum number of wagons. The consortium consists of 10 companies that are focussed in Eastern Europe.