Innovation Fund

The Innovation Fund is one of the most important funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies.


Objective

It is a key funding instrument for delivering on EU economic commitments under the Paris Agreement and its goal of being a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, as also recognized in the investment plan of the European Green Deal.


Features


Financial envelope for implementation

The Fund, whose budget for the period 2020-2030 amounts to around 25 billion euros (expected to increase up to 47 billion), is financed by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).


Fundable projects

The Innovation Fund supports investments in:

The evaluation of the projects is based on five Award Criteria:

  1. Degree of Innovation;
  2. GHG emission avoidance;
  3. Project Maturity;
  4. Scalability;
  5. Cost Efficiency.


Financing provided

Projects can receive support up to 60% of the capital and start-up costs related to innovation (Lamp-sum) of which 40% disbursed to Financial Close, the remainder is disbursed during the operational period and for a duration of up to 10 years.

Timing for project proposals

  • August 2022 for Small Projects, i.e. projects from 2.5 million to 7.5 million.
  • March 2023 for Large Projects, i.e. projects from 7.5 million to 150 million.