European Commission | Commission Unlocks €2.7 Billion for 54 Clean Industry Projects Under the Innovation Fund

The Innovation Fund is continuing to support the deployment of net-zero technologies across Europe with revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). 54 cutting-edge projects selected under the Innovation Fund 2024 Call for Net-Zero Technologies have signed their grant agreements, marking a crucial step in scaling up their technologies. Six additional projects from the reserve list have also been invited to start their grant agreement preparation. 

Advancing the deployment of net-zero technologies made in Europe

A total of 54 projects selected under the 2024 Call for Net-Zero Technologies (IF24 Call) have signed their grant agreements, marking the start of the implementation phase for a new wave of decarbonisation projects. In total, the projects will receive €2.7 billion of funding, with individual project support ranging from €1.8 million to €216 million.

The selected projects span 17 countries and 17 different industrial sectors, reflecting the diverse pipeline of innovative technologies that are ready to scale. They support a wide range of solutions, including refineries, cement and lime, manufacturing, and renewable energy such as solar or wind, as well as maritime, aviation and road transport (net-zero mobility). Once operational, the projects are set to avoid around 210 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions during the first ten years.

Six more projects invited to prepare grant agreements

A further six projects from the IF24 reserve list have been invited to start Grant Agreement Preparation (GAP). In total, the six projects could receive up to €491 million in Innovation Fund grants, with individual project support ranging from €17 million to €255 million.

These projects in 6 different Member States represent key sectors including manufacturing of components for renewable energy and electrolysers and critical raw material refinery (for lithium) for electric vehicle batteries, as well as projects in the glass manufacturing and chemical sectors. Together, the six projects are set to avoid around 20 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions during their first ten years of operation.

Reserve list projects are invited when originally selected projects withdraw from the grant agreement preparation process. The six projects were invited from the reserve list according to their ranking. Read their descriptions here.

Next Steps

For the six newly invited projects, grant agreement preparation is expected to be finalised by mid-2026. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will guide the 54 newly signed projects throughout the development phase, ensuring compliance with Innovation Fund requirements and supporting smooth progress towards financial close and construction.

There is still time to submit a project proposal to the 2025 Innovation Fund Call for Net-Zero Technologies (IF25 NZT). Launched on 4 December 2025 with a budget of €2.9 billion, the call aims to further accelerate the deployment of innovative decarbonisation technologies across Europe.

Applications are open until 23 April 2026 at 17:00 CET via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Background

The IF24 Call allocated €2.4 billion across five topics: large-scale projects, medium-scale projects, small-scale projects, cleantech manufacturing and pilot projects.

The call attracted 359 applications, exceeding the available budget by more than nine times. Following evaluation, 61 projects were initially selected to start grant agreement preparation in November 2025.

The Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the deployment of innovative net-zero technologies, with an estimated €40 billion budget between 2020 and 2030, financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

Across all calls so far, and counting projects under preparation, the Innovation Fund has awarded around €15 billion to 250 projects supporting Europe’s transition to a climate-neutral economy.

Compliments of the European Commission