An industrial company has developed an innovative, low-carbon way to run an energy-intensive production process. The technology is proven in principle, but proving it at a real, first-of-a-kind scale needs a large investment, and the additional cost over a conventional plant is exactly what makes such a pioneering project hard to justify commercially on its own.
The EU Innovation Fund is one of the largest funding programmes for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon and clean technologies, financed from revenues of the EU emissions-trading system. It gives large grants, typically several million euros and up, to first-of-a-kind projects that cut emissions, covering a share of the additional cost of the innovative project compared with a conventional alternative. It targets projects that are innovative and at a meaningful scale, in fields such as energy-intensive industry, renewables, energy storage and carbon capture and use. It suits a company taking an innovative low-carbon technology from a proven concept to a real demonstration.
A first-of-a-kind low-carbon demonstration with a strong emissions reduction is exactly what the EU Innovation Fund is for. The grant covers a share of the additional cost of the innovative project, the extra cost of doing it the low-carbon way rather than conventionally, and on a demonstration of this scale the grant comes to about EUR 15 million. That share is what bridges the gap between a proven concept and a project a company can actually commit to building.
The EU Innovation Fund runs through calls, usually with categories by project size. A project is assessed competitively against a clear set of criteria: the greenhouse-gas emissions it avoids, the degree of innovation over existing technology, the maturity of the project and its readiness to be built, the potential to scale and replicate, and the cost efficiency of the support requested per tonne of CO2 avoided. The grant is tied to the relevant additional cost of the project compared with a conventional alternative, so a clear, well-evidenced calculation of that additional cost and of the emissions avoided is central to a strong application.
A €15M EU Innovation Fund grant.
The grant makes a first-of-a-kind demonstration viable that would otherwise have stalled on its additional cost. The company proves its low-carbon process at a real scale, cutting emissions and creating a reference for the technology that lowers the risk of the next plants that follow it.
EU Innovation Fund · up to 60% of extra costFor an innovative, first-of-a-kind low-carbon demonstration at scale, the EU Innovation Fund can fund a large share of the additional cost, the gap that usually stops pioneering decarbonisation projects from being built. It is aimed precisely at the projects whose value is partly that they prove the way for others.
The questions we hear most. Short answer first, detail after.
Innovative low-carbon and clean-technology demonstration projects, financed from revenues of the EU emissions-trading system. It gives large grants to first-of-a-kind projects that cut emissions, covering a share of the additional cost compared with a conventional alternative.
Typically several million euros and up, depending on the size of the project, with the grant covering a share of the relevant additional cost of the innovative project.
The extra cost of doing the project the innovative, low-carbon way rather than conventionally. The fund covers a share of that additional cost, which is what makes a pioneering project viable.
To a specific call, usually with project-size categories. Selection is competitive, weighing greenhouse-gas avoidance, the degree of innovation, project maturity, scalability and cost efficiency.
How a manufacturing SME secured a BAFA EEW grant to replace compressed-air and motor systems with…
Read the storyHow a deep-tech company secured EIC Accelerator blended finance to scale a breakthrough hardware…
Read the storyHow a company secured an EU Innovation Fund grant for a grid-scale energy-storage demonstration -…
Read the storyHow a biotech SME secured Eurostars 3 funding for a transnational assay-development project - how…
Read the storyHow a university founder team secured the EXIST founder stipend to turn a research-based software…
Read the storyHow a medical-device manufacturer secured a GRW grant for a cleanroom capacity expansion in a…
Read the storyHow a deep-tech company secured its funded share of a multi-partner Horizon Europe consortium…
Read the storyHow a manufacturer financed a new product line with a low-interest KfW innovation loan - what a…
Read the storyTell us about your project. A funding advisor reviews your case by hand, then either comes back with feedback or a few follow-up questions. No obligation.
