EU Innovation Fund - INNOVFUND-2025-NZT Net-Zero Technologies Call

Enriched EU · Found: 2026-03-11 12:25

Innovation Fund call for Net-Zero Technologies with EUR 2.9 billion budget. Covers clean-tech manufacturing, decarbonisation projects including recycling of critical materials. Deadline April 23, 2026.

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/innovfund/wp-call/2025/call-fiche_innovfund-2025-nzt_en.pdf

Funding Details

Funder

European Commission – Innovation Fund (managed by CINEA)

Funding Goal

Demonstrate and commercialize innovative low-carbon technologies to decarbonize Europe's industrial economy and support the transition to climate neutrality by 2050, funding projects in general decarbonization, clean-tech manufacturing, and pilot breakthrough technologies.

Funding Amount

Total call budget EUR 2.9 billion. Grants cover up to 60% of relevant costs. Pilot projects capped at EUR 40 million per project. Minimum capital expenditure: EUR 2.5M (SSP, Clean-Tech Manufacturing, Pilots), EUR 20M–100M (MSP), above EUR 100M (LSP). No explicit per-project maximum for non-pilot topics.

Deadline

2026-04-23 (Fixed)

How to Apply

Two-step electronic submission via EU Funding & Tenders Portal: (1) Create EU Login account and register organization in Participant Register (obtain PIC). (2) Submit proposal online — Part A (administrative info, online), Part B (technical description, PDF upload, max 70 pages), Part C (project data, online), plus mandatory annexes including feasibility study (max 60 pages), business plan (max 60 pages), financial model, GHG emission avoidance calculator, relevant cost calculator, CVs, and Gantt chart. Deadline: 23 April 2026, 17:00 CET.

Target Region

EU Member States and EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein); applicants may be from any country worldwide

Contact

Innovation Fund Helpdesk (non-IT questions, reference call/topic): https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/support/helpdesks/contact-form | IT issues: EU Funding & Tenders Portal IT Helpdesk webform

Last Checked

2026-03-11 16:13

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Applicant must be a registered legal entity (public or private body, incl. SMEs, associations); natural persons not eligible. Register in EU Participant Register to obtain a PIC before submission.
• Project must be physically located in an EU Member State or EEA country (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein); maritime projects have additional flag/port requirements.
• Minimum project capital expenditure must be met per topic: >EUR 100M (LSP), EUR 20M–100M (MSP), EUR 2.5M–20M (SSP), >EUR 2.5M (Clean-Tech Manufacturing and Pilots).

Project Scope

• Project must demonstrate ≥50% relative GHG emission avoidance vs. reference scenario (≥75% for Pilot topic); cost efficiency ratio must be ≤200 EUR/tCO₂-eq (≤2,000 for Pilots).
• Innovation must go beyond incremental; proposal must demonstrate at minimum intermediate innovation relative to European state-of-the-art (or national level for SSP topic).

Required Documents

• Mandatory annexes must be submitted: Application Forms A/B/C, detailed budget/relevant cost calculator, feasibility study (≤60 pages), business plan (≤60 pages), detailed financial model (with formulas, no hard-coded figures), GHG emission avoidance calculator, CVs, Gantt chart, shareholder financial statements.

Constraints

• Project must not have reached financial close at the date of proposal submission.
• Project must demonstrate compliance with the EU Taxonomy 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) principle for all six environmental objectives and submit a DNSH Compliance Report at project end.

Summary

The EU Innovation Fund 2025 Net-Zero Technologies Call (INNOVFUND-2025-NZT) is one of the world's largest funding programs for demonstrating innovative low-carbon technologies, offering EUR 2.9 billion in grants managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). The call covers five topics: large-scale (LSP, EUR 1.2B), medium-scale (MSP, EUR 300M), and small-scale (SSP, EUR 100M) general decarbonization projects; clean-tech manufacturing of components for renewables, electrolysers, batteries, and heat pumps (EUR 1B); and pilot/breakthrough decarbonization projects (EUR 300M, capped at EUR 40M per project). Grants cover up to 60% of relevant incremental costs. Any legal entity worldwide may apply, but projects must be physically located in EU Member States or EEA countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein). Minimum capital expenditure thresholds range from EUR 2.5 million (SSP, clean-tech, pilots) to EUR 100 million (large-scale), making the program primarily suited for industrial-scale ventures. Applicants must register in the EU Participant Register and submit proposals electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal by 23 April 2026. Projects are evaluated on degree of innovation (must exceed incremental), GHG emission avoidance potential (≥50% relative reduction for most topics; ≥75% for pilots), project maturity (technical, financial, operational), replicability/industrial leadership, and cost efficiency (≤200 EUR/tCO₂-eq for non-pilots). Compliance with the EU Taxonomy's "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) principle across all six environmental objectives is mandatory. The clean-tech manufacturing topic also covers recycling or reuse of critical materials used in clean energy components. For the target organizations assessed here, relevance is very limited. Small-to-medium marine conservation NGOs operating in the North Sea/Baltic would be excluded by the industrial sector focus, large minimum capex, and mandatory GHG emission avoidance requirements. Plastic waste circular economy organizations may find a distant thematic connection through the recycling/circularity angle in the clean-tech manufacturing topic, but the program's exclusive focus on industrial-scale innovation within the EU ETS sectors, high innovation bars, and large project size requirements make it an unlikely match for non-profit membership organizations managing plastic waste collection value chains in developing regions.

Historical Context

The Innovation Fund is financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). This 2025 call reflects a revised EU ETS Directive extending coverage to medium-scale projects and maritime, buildings, and road transport sectors. Previous funded projects are listed on the Innovation Fund Project Portfolio Dashboard. The call was launched 4 December 2025 with version 1.1 clarifications issued 14 January 2026.

Why it was added

EU Innovation Fund covers circular economy and recycling under clean-tech manufacturing, relevant for large-scale plastic waste value chain

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