As part of the Innovation Fund, the EU is supporting numerous projects. The European Commission has selected 85 net-zero projects for funding. With a record sum of €4.8 billion, the projects are expected to achieve massive CO2 savings by 2030.
The European Commission has completed its largest funding round of the Innovation Fund to date. On October 23, it announced that 85 projects will receive a total of €4.8 billion. This increases the total amount of support awarded to €12 billion and the number of projects by 70%.
The funded projects are distributed across 18 European countries and cover the areas of energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, industrial CO2 management, green hydrogen, and emission-free mobility.
The selected projects are expected to expand the European electrolyzer production capacity by 9.3 gigawatts. In addition, the funded facilities are expected to produce around 61,000 tons of renewable hydrogen per year according to the RFNBO guidelines. The hydrogen is primarily intended for use in energy-intensive industries and the transport sector. In the mobility sector, the focus is on the use of hydrogen in maritime applications. The projects include the construction and retrofitting of ships for RFNBO fuels.
CO2 Savings of 480 Million Tons
The supported projects are expected to become operational before 2030 and save around 476 million tons of CO2 equivalent in the first ten years of operation. This is intended to contribute to the European decarbonization targets.
The selected applicants are to sign their grant agreements with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) in the first quarter of 2025.
The selected projects were evaluated by independent experts based on five criteria:
- Potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Degree of innovation
- Operational, financial and technical maturity
- Replicability
- Cost-effectiveness
Additional Project Funding
In addition to the 85 projects selected by the European Commission for funding, the European Investment Bank is supporting additional projects that are promising but not yet sufficiently mature. The support from the Investment Bank is intended to facilitate the further development of these projects.
For the first time, all 149 projects that have exceeded the evaluation thresholds of the Innovation Fund (including 64 unfunded projects) will receive the STEP seal. This is the EU's new quality label awarded to high-quality projects that contribute to the goals of the Strategic Technologies for Europe (STEP) platform. The STEP seal is intended to facilitate access to additional public and private funding opportunities for these projects.
The Commission plans to launch the next call for proposals for the Innovation Fund in December 2024.
