The two Innovation Fund 2024 calls officially closed on 24 April and received a remarkable total of 373 project proposals, signalling European industry’s unwavering commitment to the EU’s journey toward climate neutrality while boosting competitiveness. Under the calls, the Commission will allocate up to €3.4 billion in funding from the revenues of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to facilitate the deployment of pioneering clean technologies.
Both launching on 3 December 2024, the Net-zero technologies call concluded with 359 applications. These projects collectively sought €21.7 billion in support, highlighting a demand that surpasses the available budget of €2.4 billion by more than nine times.
The call for electric vehicle battery manufacturing received 14 proposals, requesting €1.6 billion in EU funding, also exceeding the €1 billion budget. These figures underscore European industries’ commitment to accelerate clean technology deployment, decarbonise and strengthen industrial leadership in strategic sectors.
Net-zero Technologies call
The Net-zero Technologies call (IF24 Call) builds on the success of the 2023 edition. The 359 project proposals are located in 28 European Economic Area (EEA) countries and collectively would avoid emitting an equivalent of 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over their first 10 years of operation.
In compliance with the Clean Industrial Deal, Wind Package, Industrial Carbon Management Strategy and the Net-Zero Industry Act, this call supports a stronger business case for European industry and climate neutral investments in decarbonisation and clean tech.
The IF24 Call featured five topics under which projects could submit proposals:
- Large-scale projects received around 39% of the total proposals;
- Medium-scale projects received circa 15% of the proposals;
- Small-scale projects received close to 13% of the proposals;
- Cleantech manufacturing received approximately 14% of the proposals;
- Pilots topic received nearly 19% of the proposals
Key decarbonisation areas covered by the call relates to the following categories: Energy-intensive Industries which attracted 169 proposals, Industrial Carbon Management with 24 proposals, Renewable Energy with 67 proposals, and Energy Storage received 43 proposals. Introduced last year, the Mobility, including Maritime, Aviation and Road Transport categories received 50 proposals, and Buildings received 6 proposals. Notably, proposals for sectors such as chemicals, cement and lime, refineries, and hydrogen were high.
Electric Vehicle Battery Cell Manufacturing call
For the first time, a dedicated call was launched to support the manufacturing of electric vehicle battery cells in Europe (IF24 Battery). This highly specialised call is a response to the initiative to support the EU battery manufacturing industry by allocating up to 3 billion in EU funding via the Innovation Fund. The objective is to incentivise investment, boost demand and make the European battery manufacturing industry more competitive and resilient by reducing the risk of dependency on foreign suppliers for this strategic technology.
The IF24 Battery call received a total of 14 proposals. Considering the specialised and narrow scope of this call, this very good response showcases the readiness of industry to produce electric vehicle battery cells in Europe. The submitted project proposals are located in eight EU countries, with the highest number of proposals coming from Germany, followed by France, Bulgaria, and Poland.
This call aims to address supply chain vulnerabilities and boost competitiveness within the green mobility and electricity storage sectors. In terms of battery technology, proposals cover Lithium-ion nickel magnesium and cobalt technologies (Li-Ion-NMC), Solid State and Lithium-Ion-Iron Phosphate (Li-ion-Iron). Altogether, the proposals aim to avoid an equivalent of 138 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over a 10-year operational period.
Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate Action said
I am very happy to see industry responding strongly to the Innovation Fund call for proposals year after year. This demonstrates our collective dedication to meeting our climate neutrality objectives. Thanks to the EU Emissions Trading System, we can ensure that carbon costs paid by industry are transformed into tangible investments in our decarbonised future. It is so encouraging to see such a diverse range of innovative projects spanning over many sectors, driving competitiveness and propelling our continent towards a cleaner future.
Next Steps:
Now that the calls are closed, the evaluation process is underway. Following the eligibility and admissibility checks, the proposals will be evaluated by external experts against the call award criteria, which includes degree of innovation, greenhouse gas emission avoidance potential, manufacturing carbon footprint, project maturity, replicability and cost efficiency. The results are expected to be communicated in the second half of 2025, with grant agreements prepared and signed thereafter.
All projects that meet the evaluation criteria will receive a STEP Seal awarded the Commission, regardless of whether they are selected for funding. STEP Seal projects are promoted by the Commission to possibly attract funding from other public or private sources. Projects will be notified automatically if they have been awarded a STEP Seal following the evaluation process. There is no separate application required to obtain the STEP Seal. The list and map of current STEP Seal projects can be found here.
In addition, the Commission is encouraging Member States to consider using ‘Grants-as-a-Service’, which allows them to support projects located in their territory based on the Innovation Fund’s evaluation and with streamlined State aid approval. The objective is to maximise support for excellent and innovative projects across the EU to foster the clean transition.
In partnership with the European Commission, the European Investment Bank will provide Project Development Assistance (PDA) to support both promising projects that were not selected for grant funding under the Innovation Fund calls or new projects aspiring to apply. Selected projects will receive tailored technical and financial advisory support to improve their maturity and increase their chances of success in future Innovation Fund calls.
Background:
Using revenues from the auctioning of emission allowances from the EU ETS, the Innovation Fund seeks to drive investment in cutting-edge, low-carbon and net-zero technologies, supporting Europe’s transition to climate neutrality.
With a total budget of around €12 billion already committed since 2021, the Innovation Fund supports over 200 innovative projects across the European Economic Area (EEA).
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