Croatia

Key facts

Electricity production in Croatia closely matches demand, with 17 541 GWh produced in 2023.[1]

Croatia imports 9.7% of its electricity final electricity consumption.

Electricity represents 20% of Croatia’s final energy consumption.

  • The Croatian electricity to gas price ratio is around 3 for industry and households. [2]
The Croatian electricity mix is split between
  • Hydropower
  • Natural Gas
  • Wind
  • Coal
  • Biofuels
  • Solar PV

Current state of electrification

Residential buildings in Croatia

Buildings

  • The residential sector represents 39.4% of Croatia’s final electricity consumption. Commercial and public services represent 36%. [3]
  • District heating represents 14% of the overall heat supply in Croatia with 14 companies operating in 19 cities and towns. 80-85% of these networks are supplied by natural gas, followed by heat oil and a negligible amount of renewables. [4]
  • Around 8 000 heat pumps were sold in 2024, bringing the total residential stock to an estimated 65,000–85,000 units. [5]

Industry

Sources [6]

  • Industry is the third electricity consumer behind the residential and commercial and public services.
  • The most electricity intensive sectors in 2024 were:
    • Non-metallic mineral products (cement, glass, and construction materials): 0.9 to 1.0 twh | 26% to 30% of industrial electricity
    • Food, beverage, and tobacco: 0.6 to 0.7 twh | 18% to 22% of industrial electricity
    • Basic metals and metal processing: 0.5 to 0.6 twh | 15% to 18% of industrial electricity
Industry — from the design
Transport — from the design

Transport

Sources [7]

  • Transport is only lightly electrified with a mere 3.74%. The data for the total number of vehicles on Croatia roads is taken from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. [8]
  • In 2026 the electric fleet is composed of:
  • 13 385 electric vehicles (+1 437 year on year) - - this represents 0.65% of the 2 058 313 passenger cars on Croatian roads
  • 699 light commercial vehicles (+61 year on year) - this represents roughly 0.28% of the estimated ~250 000 light commercial/delivery vehicles on Croatian roads
  • 22 electric buses (+ 5 year on year) - this represents 0.35% of the 6 245 buses on Croatian roads
  • 7 electric trucks (+2 year on year) — this represents 0.003% of the 250 689 trucks (lorries) on Croatian roads
  • 5160 light vehicles (+50 year on year) — this represents 2.81% of the 183 593 motorcycles and mopeds (less than 4 wheels) on Croatian roads

Grid and flexibility

Transmission & Distribution

Croatia’s power grid suffers from severe congestion, which has stalled over EUR 3 billion in renewable energy projects. The grid lacks the capacity to integrate over 3,500 MW of planned solar, wind, and battery projects.
Upgrades are desperately needed, as over 60% of the transmission lines are more than 40 years old. [9]
There is a major lack of high-voltage transmission lines (such as the proposed 400 kV line) needed to move power from the sunny, windy southern regions to the high-demand western areas. [10]

Storage

Electricity storage capacity is composed of:
  • Hydro: 282 MW of generating capacity and 245 MW of pumping capacity. State utility HEP is preparing major expansions, including the proposed 498 MW Blaca pumped-storage project near Split. [11] [12]
  • BESS: Flagship installations include the 60 MW / 120 MWh BESS at the Impol-TLM industrial site in Šibenik and solar-coupled facilities such as the 38 MW / 70.8 MWh BESS at the Bokšić solar plant. [13] [14]

Smart meters

Croatia has installed one million smart meters, reaching 40% of all power metering devices in the country. [15]

Support schemes

Electric Vehicles (EVs)
National Program for Zero-Emission Vehicles (FZOEU EnU-4/25) [16]

Co-financing for new electric or hydrogen vehicles (purchase or financial leasing).

  • L1–L7 categories: Up to €2,500 (max 40% of net cost).
  • M1 & N1 categories (Passenger/Light Duty): Up to €9,000 (vehicle price capped at €50,000 ex. VAT).
Citizens' Eco-Vehicle Subsidy Scheme (FZOEU) [17]

A €20 million national funding pool providing direct purchase subsidies of up to €9,000 for electric passenger cars (M1) to accelerate private green mobility transition.

Commercial Fleet Subsidies (Taxi & Delivery) [18]

A targeted €45 million allocation to specifically support high-mileage commercial operators to convert fleets to zero-emission vehicles (BEVs).

Environmental & Road Tax Exemptions [19]

Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are completely exempt from the annual road tax and the special annual environmental tax collected during vehicle registration.

Heat Pumps
National RES & Heat Pump Subsidy (FZOEU €38M Call) [20]

Direct co-financing from a €10 million dedicated heat pump pool:

  • Standard Support: Covers 50% of the investment, with subsidies ranging from €6,250 to €8,750.
  • Energy Poverty Support: Covers up to 70% of the investment for households meeting vulnerability criteria.
Energy Renovation of Multi-Apartment Buildings [21]

Grants co-funded via carbon allowance revenues and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO) for building-wide deep retrofits. Covers up to 60–80% of costs when replacing inefficient centralized fossil-fuel heating with centralized heat pumps.

Energy Poverty Alleviation Grants [22]

A specialized €25 million social fund providing up to 70% cost coverage for installing modern energy-efficient heating systems (like air-to-water heat pumps) to combat low incomes and inefficient building stock.

Industry
Decarbonisation & Modernisation of Heating/Cooling Systems [23]

An €80 million program funded by national and EU resources targeting industrial thermal transition. It offers direct capital grants of up to €30 million per project to shift industrial process heat from fossil fuels to high-capacity heat pumps and RES.

Modernisation Fund: Industrial RES Self-Consumption & BESS [24]

Subsidizes the installation of self-consumption solar PV plants and battery energy storage systems (BESS) to lower grid dependence and power electrified manufacturing equipment.

EU Innovation Fund (Large-Scale Decarbonization) [25]

Highly competitive, multi-million-euro direct grants supporting first-of-a-kind deep-decarbonization process conversions (e.g., integrating solar thermal, waste heat recovery, and large-scale 8 MW heat pumps in drying processes).

Targets

Buildings

  • There is no dedicated target for heat pump deployment in Croatia, but the revised NECP sets an ambitious target of 47.1% renewable energy in the heating and cooling sector by 2030. [25]

Transport

  • There is no dedicated target for the deployment of electric vehicles in Croatia, but the target for the share of renewable energy in the transport sector by 2030 has been nearly doubled, rising from the initial 13.2% to 24.6%. This leap represents a major shift from the less than 1% renewable share recorded in the transport sector as recently as 2023. [26]

Industry

  • Under the updated NECP, Croatia bolstered its 2030 target for reducing emissions in ETS-covered sectors (including heavy industry and power generation) from 43% to a 62% reduction compared to 2005 levels. [27]

Gaps and Challenges

While the country possesses high renewable generation potential, severe grid congestion has created a massive bottleneck, stalling over €3 billion in renewable energy projects and locking out over 3,500 MW of planned wind, solar, and battery storage capacity. This is heavily exacerbated by aging infrastructure, with over 60% of transmission lines exceeding 40 years of age, and a critical geographical mismatch: the sunny, windy southern regions produce clean energy that cannot be efficiently transmitted to the high-demand western and northern areas due to a lack of high-voltage transmission lines.

In the built environment, Croatia’s heat pump market remains highly nascent with only 8,000 units sold in 2024, hampered further by an acute deficit of 24,500 qualified HVAC and energy-renovation workers. Furthermore, 80% to 85% of Croatia’s district heating systems – which supply 14% of the country’s heat – remain heavily reliant on fossil natural gas.

In transport, electrification is practically non-existent, sitting at a mere 3.74% with a total EV stock of just 13,385 vehicles in 2026.

Finally, despite high-capacity funding programs, Croatia’s top industrial electricity consumers – led by food and beverages (22-25%) and non-metallic mineral products (18-22%) – lack clear fuel-switching timelines to transition their deep-thermal processing away from fossil fuels.

Assessment

Buildings

Lacking

Heat pump deployment is highly nascent with only 8,000 sales in 2024 and no dedicated national target. District heating remains deeply fossilised, with 80% to 85% of systems run on natural gas.

Transport

Lacking

Electrification stands at a negligible 3.74% of the sector. There are currently no binding national EV deployment targets to drive market momentum.

Industry

At risk

While ambitious emission reduction targets exist. Croatia’s leading industrial power users (food and beverages, cement, and chemicals) lack clear, mandated phase-down timelines for natural gas, leaving deep-decarbonization efforts heavily reliant on voluntary, project-based grant applications.

Power system

On track

Clean generation is structurally strong; 47% of Croatia’s electricity is generated by hydropower and wind has reached 14.7% of the mix, leading to more than 73% of domestic generation coming from renewable sources in high-water years. Coal has been successfully reduced to around 7% of generation.

Grids

At risk

Severe grid congestion has completely blocked over €3 billion in renewable projects and 3.5 GW of clean capacity. More than 60% of the transmission grid is over 40 years old, the smart meter rollout is lagging at 40%, and crucial high-voltage corridors to transfer southern wind and solar to western demand centers are delayed.

Policy framework

At risk

While Croatia’s updated NECP significantly boosted 2030 targets – nearly doubling the transport renewable target to 24.6% and raising the heating renewable target to 47.1% – these aggressive paper targets are heavily undermined by a lack of concrete sectoral strategies, critical workforce shortages, and severe grid capacity bottlenecks.

  1. 1IEA, “Country profile, Croatia”, accessible here.
  2. 2European Commission, “Electrification Action plan”, accessible here.
  3. 3IEA, “Country profile, Croatia”, accessible here.
  4. 4CoolHeating, “Croatia”, accessible here.
  5. 5JRC “Status of the heat pump market: Croatia”, accessible here. EHPA, 2025 European heat pump market report”, accessible here.
  6. 6Odyssee-Mure, “Energy Efficiency Trends and Policies in Croatia”, accessible here.
  7. 7European Commission, “European Alternative Fuels Observatory”, accessible here.
  8. 8Croatian Bureau of Statistics, “Transport”, accessible here
  9. 9EIHP, “Action plan for power grid strengthening to support the integration of renewable energy sources in Croatia”, accessible here.
  10. 10CEE Legal Matters, “Croatia: the introduction of a grid connection fee - a key move towards renewable energy expansion”, accessible here.
  11. 11JRC, “Pumped hydro energy storage: potential for transformation from single dams”, accessible here.
  12. 12Balkan Energy News, “Croatia’s HEP preparing to build pumped storage hydropower plant Blaca”, accessible here.
  13. 13ESS News, “Plans announced for 245 MWh of battery storage in Croatia, Serbia”, accessible here.
  14. 14Balkan Energy News, “Project underway for 99 MW Boksic solar plant with battery storage”, accessible here.
  15. 15Balkan Green Energy News, “Croatia installs one million smart meters, Serbia reaches 650 000”, accessible here.
  16. 16Fond za zaštitu okoliša i energetsku učinkovitost, "Javni poziv za kupnju novih vozila na alternativna goriva (EnU-4/25)", accessible here. here
  17. 17Autonet, "Poticaji za električna vozila dostupni za građane", accessible here. here
  18. 18Hrastović Inženjering, "RH sufinanciranje učinkovitih vozila iz Modernizacijskog fonda", accessible here. here
  19. 19Porezna uprava, "Porez na cestovna motorna vozila i porezna oslobođenja", accessible here. here
  20. 20Fond za zaštitu okoliša i energetsku učinkovitost, "Fond objavio javni poziv vrijedan 38 milijuna eura za obnovljive izvore energije i dizalice topline", accessible here. here
  21. 21Obnovi.hr, "Energetska obnova višestambenih zgrada u Republici Hrvatskoj", accessible here. here
  22. 22Jutarnji list, "Fond objavio poziv od 38 milijuna eura za ugradnju dizalica topline i suzbijanje energetskog siromaštva", accessible here. here
  23. 23Ministarstvo zaštite okoliša i zelene tranzicije, "Otvoren Poziv iz Modernizacijskog fonda: Dekarbonizacija i modernizacija toplinskih sustava za grijanje i/ili hlađenje (MF-2026-2-1)", accessible here. here
  24. 24Fond za zaštitu okoliša i energetsku učinkovitost, "Nacionalni javni pozivi i natječaji iz Modernizacijskog fonda", accessible here. here
  25. 25Europska komisija – Climate Action, "Innovation Fund DECARBOMALT Project Profile", accessible here. here
  26. 26European Commission, “Croatia - Final updated NECP 2021-2030”, accessible here.
  27. 27Balkan Energy News, “Croatia raises 2030 renewable target to 42.5%”, accessible here.
  28. 28European Commission, “Croatia - Final updated NECP 2021-2030”, accessible here.