The Innovation Fund is one of the world's largest funding programmes and is aimed at promoting net-zero technologies with significant emission reduction potential through grants for projects across all EU countries. Offering up to 60-100% coverage of costs (depending on regular grants or competitive bidding), it provides support through flexible grant disbursements aligned to project milestones.
Furthermore, projects falling under the scope of the Innovation Fund can access Project Development Assistance (PDA) and benefit from high-quality technical and financial advisory support.
The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) - the world’s largest carbon pricing system – provides the revenues for the Innovation Fund from the monetisation of 530 million ETS allowances. The unspent funds from the NER300 programme, the Innovation Fund’s predecessor, were also transferred to the Innovation Fund.
How to apply
Regular calls for proposals are published on EU Funding and Tenders portal. Calls open annually to small (CapEx above EUR 2.5 million and up to EUR 20 million), medium (CapEx above EUR 20 million and up to EUR 100 million) and large-scale (above 100 million CapEx) projects. Furthermore, in the last years, the EU Innovation Fund has opened a dedicated call to Net Zero Technologies – Clean-tech Manufacturing, to support projects in clean technology manufacturing. This call focuses on accelerating the commercial scale-up of innovative technologies that contribute to decarbonization in manufacturing sectors, promoting a shift towards sustainable industrial processes and products. No fixed amount per project has been set. However, for all calls, the maximum grant amount must not exceed 60% of the eligible costs. For more information consult the Innovation Fund Call Document.