The Innovation Fund is one of the world's largest funding programmes supporting innovative low-carbon technologies. The main objective of the Innovation Fund is to bring industrial solutions to the market to de-carbonise Europe and support its transition to climate neutrality.
Deadline: 31 August 2022 at 5:00 p.m.
Objectives: The call aims to support projects using highly innovative technologies, processes, business models or products and services that are sufficiently mature and have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The call therefore aims to provide financial support tailored to the market needs and risk profiles of eligible projects, while attracting additional public and private resources.
Types of action that the EC intends to co-finance
- activities that support innovation in low carbon process technologies in all sectors listed in Annex I of the EU ETS Directive 2003/87, including environmentally safe carbon capture and use (CCU), which contribute substantially to climate change mitigation, as well as to the replacement of carbon-intensive products produced in the sectors listed in Annex I of the above-mentioned EU ETS 2003/87 directive;
- activities that help stimulate the construction and operation of projects aiming at the environmentally safe capture and geological storage of CO2 (CCS);
- activities that help stimulate the construction and operation of innovative renewable energy and energy storage and accumulation technologies.
In particular, the Call aims to co-fund small-scale projects with costs between €2.5 and €7.5 million. Projects must take place in EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. The funds can be used in combination with other sources of public funding, such as state aid or other EU funding programmes. Projects will be assessed on the basis of five criteria: prevention of greenhouse gas emissions, degree of innovation, project maturity, scalability and cost-effectiveness. The selected projects will contribute to the transition to a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
Promising project proposals considered during the selection process as 'not mature enough' for financial support may receive project development assistance from the European Investment Bank.
