Innovation fund to support 17 projects focused on the decarbonisation of European industry

The investment in new technologies has increased by 60 % compared to the previous round.

In the second round of calls, 17 large-scale projects were selected for support by the Innovation Fund. Their breakthrough technologies are intended to help breakthrough in energy-intensive industries and offer new solutions for hydrogen, renewable energy and carbon capture. The amount of EUR 1.8 billion will go to projects from Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

The selected projects are intended to contribute to the EU's decarbonisation efforts and cover the following sectors: green hydrogen distribution and use, waste-to-hydrogen, offshore wind, photovoltaic modules, battery storage and recycling, carbon capture and storage, sustainable aviation fuels and advanced biofuels. Innovations of these technologies have the potential to save 136 million tons of CO2 in the first 10 years of operation.

The main revenue source for the Innovation fund is from the EU Emissions Trading System. In the first round, 7 projects received funding with a total value of EUR 1.1 billion. Considering the 60% increase in funding, the Innovation Fund could now support twice as many projects.

In the autumn, the European Commission plans to announce a third call (3 billion euros) under the RePowerEU plan and recommends re-application to projects that have not been supported so far.