Apply for Innovation Fund

The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies - EUR 25 billion beteween 2021-2030.

It is a key funding instrument for delivering the EU’s economy-wide commitments under the Paris Agreement and its objective to be climate neutral Europe by 2050, as also recognised in the European Green Deal Investment Plan.

The fund focuses on highly innovative technologies and big flagship projects with European value added that can bring on significant emission reductions. Most likely, the Innovation Fund will provide EUR 25 billion for commercial demonstration projects, pilot projects and project scale-ups up until 2030. You can apply for up to 60% of the relevant costs of the project, the specific calculation of which depends on its size. Support will be provided as lump-sum grants or project development assistance.

Projects need to be sufficiently mature in terms of planning, business model and financial and legal structure.

Application process

The application process has two stages: (For small-scale projects, the application process will have only one stage.)

• Expression of interest, with a first assessment on the project effectiveness, innovation and maturity level. Projects that meet only the first two criteria may qualify for project development assistance.
• Full application, where projects are assessed on all the criteria, including scalability and cost efficiency.

There will be regular calls for proposals in the lifetime of the Innovation Fund.