The third call for small-scale projectsEN••• launched under the Innovation FundEN••• and with a grant budget of €100 million closed on 19 September 2023. The call was open to projects working on industrial decarbonisation solutions in the 27 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway that will further boost the deployment of pioneering innovative low-carbon technologies.
Projects from 23 eligible countries applied for Innovation Fund support under this call, demonstrating the wide geographical interest in cleantech and EU green industry financing. Sectors covered by the project proposals include chemicals, glass, hydrogen, solar energy, manufacturing of components for renewable energy and energy storage, but also non-ferrous metals and hydro/ocean energy.
This third call for small-scale projects proved extremely popular among applicants, with the total request for EU support amounting to €289 million. This is almost three times the €100 million budget available for this call, which is generated by revenues from the auctioning of emission allowances from the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)EN•••. For the projects that are selected, the Innovation Fund will finance up to 60% of their total capital expenditure (between €2.5 and €7.5 million). By doing so, the risks for companies wanting to develop and commercialise innovative clean technologies in Europe are lowered.