EU Innovation Fund - Overview

Enriched EU · Found: 2026-03-11 12:25

Overview of the EU Innovation Fund supporting commercial deployment of innovative low-carbon technologies including circular economy and waste recycling projects.

Source: https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/eu-funding-climate-action/innovation-fund/what-innovation-fund_en

Funding Details

Funder

European Commission – EU Innovation Fund

Funding Goal

Support the commercial deployment of highly innovative low-carbon and net-zero technologies to decarbonise European industry and energy systems, contributing to EU climate neutrality by 2050.

Funding Amount

Up to 60% of relevant costs for regular grants; up to 100% for competitive bidding (auctions). Total fund envelope approximately €40 billion between 2020 and 2030 (based on a carbon price of €75/tonne CO₂).

Deadline

Rolling calls 2020–2030; no single fixed deadline (Rolling)

How to Apply

Apply via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal (https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/programmes/innovfund) during an open call for proposals. CINEA manages evaluation, eligibility checks, grant agreement signing, and disbursement. Project Development Assistance (PDA) via the EIB is available to improve project maturity.

Target Region

EU member states, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland

Contact

Email: clima-innovation-fund@ec.europa.eu | Implementing agency: CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency) | National Contact Points designated in each participating country

Last Checked

2026-03-11 16:14

Application Checklist

Eligibility

• Project must be based in an EU member state, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Iceland
• Project must fall within an eligible sector: energy-intensive industry, renewable energy, energy storage, CCU/CCS, net-zero mobility, or buildings

Project Scope

• Project must involve highly innovative, first-of-a-kind low-carbon or net-zero technology at sufficient planning, business model, and financial/legal maturity
• Project must demonstrate significant, quantifiable GHG emission avoidance potential

Required Documents

• Submit proposal through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal during an open call period
• Prepare knowledge-sharing plan; projects are contractually required to share learnings to facilitate replication and market uptake

Constraints

• Regular grants cover up to 60% of relevant costs; remaining costs must be financed by the applicant and/or other sources
• Cumulative public subsidies must respect applicable state aid rules even though the Innovation Fund grant itself is not state aid

Summary

The EU Innovation Fund is one of the world's largest funding programmes for deploying innovative net-zero technologies. Financed by revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) — monetising approximately 530 million ETS allowances — the fund may reach €40 billion between 2020 and 2030 (at a carbon price of €75/tCO₂). It awards grants through regular calls for proposals and competitive bidding (auctions) managed by CINEA (the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), with the EIB providing project development assistance and managing fund revenues. The fund targets highly innovative, first-of-a-kind projects with significant greenhouse gas reduction potential across sectors covered by the EU ETS: energy-intensive industries (steel, cement, chemicals, waste-to-energy), renewable energy, energy storage, carbon capture and utilisation/storage (CCU/CCS), and — since the 2023 ETS revision — net-zero mobility (maritime, aviation, road transport) and buildings. Circular economy and reuse solutions within energy-intensive industries are also listed as eligible applications. Eligible countries include all EU member states plus Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland. Grants cover up to 60% of relevant costs (capital and operational costs minus revenues over the first ten years) for regular grants, and up to 100% for competitive bidding. Grants are disbursed based on project financing needs and milestones. Projects are scored on GHG effectiveness, degree of innovation, project maturity, replicability, and cost efficiency. Up to 40% of a regular grant may be disbursed pre-operationally against defined milestones. Innovation Fund grants can be combined with other EU instruments (Horizon Europe, InvestEU, Connecting Europe Facility, Just Transition Fund, etc.) and are not classified as state aid, though cumulative public subsidy limits under state aid rules apply. Regular calls are planned throughout the fund's duration (2020–2030), and project promoters apply via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.

Historical Context

Successor to the NER300 programme; unspent NER300 funds were transferred to the Innovation Fund. Three progress reports published (2021, 2022, 2023). IF23 was the first call to combine five project topics into one call. Pilot hydrogen auction (IF23) launched. ETS revision in 2023 expanded the fund from 450M to ~530M allowances and added new sectors.

Why it was added

EU Innovation Fund overview page, relevant for plastic circular economy scale-up projects

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