Sustainable Finance Research Centre to Lead Biodiversity Finance Work in European “BioSolar” Project
Budapest, Hungary, September 2025 – The Sustainable Finance Research Centre (SFRC) at Corvinus University of Budapest is proud to announce its role in the newly launched BioSolar project, co-funded by BIODIVERSA+ and Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office. BioSolar explores how solar energy infrastructure can be transformed into nature-positive solutions that restore ecosystems while delivering clean energy.
The international consortium includes universities and partners from Spain, Portugal, Poland, Canada, Slovenia, Iceland, Sweden, and Hungary. Running from April 2025 to March 2028, BioSolar is funded with €1.7 million, of which €250,000 has been awarded to SFRC to lead the Hungarian contribution and pioneer the financial dimension of the project.
As the project’s finance lead, SFRC will investigate how investments in solar farms can also generate measurable biodiversity benefits. This involves:
- Integrating biodiversity risk and opportunity into financial valuation of solar projects.
- Developing guidelines for project finance that encourage biodiversity-enhancing designs.
- Exploring biodiversity credits and payment schemes to incentivise solar developers and investors.
- Analysing greenwashing risks to ensure financial instruments are credible and aligned with EU sustainable finance regulations.
“BioSolar allows us to show that biodiversity and finance are not opposing forces,” said Dr. Helena Naffa, Director of SFRC. “By designing financial tools that reward biodiversity-positive solar farms, we can demonstrate how the energy transition can go hand in hand with ecosystem restoration.”
BioSolar’s biodiversity finance research will inform EU policy and investment practices, offering pathways for mobilising capital towards biodiversity-positive energy infrastructure. The outcomes will support decision-makers, investors, and developers in scaling nature-based solutions across Europe.
About SFRC
The Sustainable Finance Research Centre (SFRC) at Corvinus University of Budapest conducts interdisciplinary research at the intersection of finance, sustainability, and investment. With a focus on nature-positive finance, SFRC develops tools and strategies that align financial systems with biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.
Contact
Sustainable Finance Research Centre (SFRC)
Corvinus University of Budapest
sustainable.finance@uni-corvinus.hu
Project no. 2024-1.2.1-HE_PARTNERSÉG-2025-00031 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the 2024-1.2.1-HE_PARTNERSÉG funding scheme.
The project was supported by Biodiversa+, the European Biodiversity Partnership, in the context of the BioSolar project under the 2023-2024 BiodivNBS joint call co-funded by the European Commission (GA No. 101052342).