The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the world’s largest carbon pricing system, will provide revenue to the IF program by auctioning €450 million from emission allowances from 2020 to 2030, as well as any unused funds from the NER300 program. For the 2020-2030 period, funding may amount to around €40 billion, depending on the price of carbon credits issued.
Innovation Fund aims to contribute to the EU’s economic recovery in an environmentally sustainable way, helping companies to invest in clean energy and industries and boost their economic growth, create new local jobs and generate a competitive advantage for the EU’s industrial sector.
On 23 November the European Commission opened two new calls aiming to support EU’s decarbonisation objectives:
- The new 2023 Innovation Fund call for a total amount worth at least € 4 Bn.
- The new auction pilot from the Hydrogen bank to fund Renewable Hydrogen projects. € 800 M has been allocated to this specific auction.
Objective
The Innovation Fund (IF) program is one of the world’s leading funding initiatives for the development of innovative low-carbon technologies. IF focuses on truly innovative technologies and large flagship projects with European added value that can deliver significant CO2 emission reductions. It involves sharing the risk with project promoters to assist them in the demonstration phase of first-of-a-kind highly innovative projects.
Successor to the NER 300 program (2012-2014) funded by the EU Emissions Trading System includes the following improvements:
- Open to projects in energy-intensive industries.
- Better risk sharing of projects (higher subsidies).
- More flexible support, following the cash flow needs of projects (up to 40% grant prepayment).
- Simplified governance and simplified decision making.
Name | Opening date | Next deadline | Deadline model | Link |
Innovation Fund 2023 Net Zero Technologies – Pilots | 23/11/2023 | 09/04/2024 | single-stage | |
Innovation Fund 2023 Net Zero Technologies – General decarbonisation – Medium-Scale Projects | 23/11/2023 | 09/04/2024 | single-stage | |
Innovation Fund 2023 Net Zero Technologies – General decarbonisation – Small-Scale Projects | 23/11/2023 | 09/04/2024 | single-stage | |
Innovation Fund 2023 Net Zero Technologies – General decarbonisation – Large-Scale Projects | 23/11/2023 | 09/04/2024 | single-stage | |
Innovation Fund 2023 Net Zero Technologies – Manufacturing | 23/11/2023 | 09/04/2024 | single-stage | |
Innovation Fund 2023 Auction – RFNBO Hydrogen | 23/11/2023 | 08/02/2024 | single-stage |
Scope: Europe
Budget: Around 40 B € (2020 - 2030)
Organization: European Commission
Nature of project : Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Mobility and Environment
BENEFICIARY
- Applicants must be legal entities: private, public entities or international organizations.
- Applicants must be directly responsible for the implementation and management of the project (no intermediaries).
- Applicants may apply on their own or within a consortium.
- Eligible countries are EU member states, Norway or Iceland
TYPE AND AMOUNT OF FUNDS
Until mid 2023 this programme has two types of financing, depending on the volume of expenditure of the project, a new structure is expected to be announced by November 2023.
Small-scale projects | Large-scale projects | |
Size of the project | Between 2.5 M€ and 7.5 M€ CAPEX | > 7.5M€ CAPEX |
Eligible activities | Renewables, energy-intensive industries, carbon capture and storage, energy storage. | Renewables, energy-intensive industries including carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), energy storage, substitute products and cross-cutting projects. |
Application process | One phase | One phase. |
Volume of support | Up to 60% of capital expenditure (CAPEX). | Up to 60% of the additional costs linked to the innovative low-carbon technology applied. |
ELIGIBE COST
- Activities supporting innovation in low-carbon technologies and processes in the sectors listed in Annex I of the 2003/87 ETS Directive, including environmentally safe carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) that contributes substantially to climate change mitigation, as well as substitutes.
- Activities that help stimulate the construction and operation of projects that aim at environmentally safe capture and geological storage of CO2 (CCS).
- Activities that help stimulate the construction and operation of renewable energy and energy storage technologies.
Eligible activities in small-scale and large-scale projects may vary, for more details on the two different types of project funding, we recommend to consult us.
With regard to the possible eligible applications for projects, they are very varied:
- New plants
- Modifications of existing plants
- Product substitution
- Innovative fuels / electro-fuels / use of biomass / electrification of existing plants
- New products that save emissions in use
- New products that save emissions in their end-of-life treatment
- Any combination of the above.
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