The two calls for proposals under the Innovation Fund for 2024 officially closed on 24 April, attracting a total of 373 project proposals, which signals a strong interest in low-carbon technologies from European industry. Under the calls for proposals, the EC will provide up to €3.4 billion in funding from the revenues of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) to facilitate the deployment of innovative clean technologies.

In line with the Clean Industry Pact, the wind energy package, the Industrial Strategy for a Low Carbon Economy and the Zero Net Emissions Industrial Act, the call for proposals in the field of zero net emission technologies (IF24) supported a stronger economic case for European industry and climate-neutral investments in decarbonisationand clean technologies.

The call included five topics on which projects could submit proposals:

• Large projects received around 39% of the total number of proposals;
• Medium-scale projects received around 15% of the proposals;
• Small projects received around 13% of the proposals;
• Clean technology manufacturing received approximately 14% of proposals;
• The pilot projects theme received nearly 19% of proposals

The key areas of decarbonisation covered by the call relate to the following categories: Energy-intensive industries attracted 169 proposals, industrial carbon management received 24 proposals, renewable energy received 67 proposals, and energy storage received 43 proposals. The categories introduced last year, “Mobility”, including “Maritime”, “Air transport” and “Road transport”, received 50 proposals, and “Buildings” received 6 proposals. In particular, proposals for sectors such as chemicals, cement and lime, refineries and hydrogen were high.

For the first time, a special call was launched to support the production of battery cells for electric vehicles in Europe (IF24 Battery). This highly specialised call for proposals is a response to the initiative to support the EU battery industry by allocating up to €3 billion in EU funding through the Innovation Fund. The aim is to stimulate investment, boost demand and increase the competitiveness and sustainability of the European battery manufacturing industry by reducing the risk of dependence on foreign suppliers for this strategic technology.

The call for proposals under IF24 Battery received a total of 14 proposals. Given its specialised and narrow scope, this number demonstrates the industry’s readiness to produce battery cells for electric vehicles in Europe. The project proposals submitted are located in eight EU countries, with the largest number of proposals coming from Germany, followed by France, Bulgaria and Poland.

Next steps:

The evaluation process for the proposals is currently underway. After the eligibility and admissibility checks, the proposals will be evaluated by external experts based on the criteria for awarding the call, which include degree of innovation, potential for avoiding greenhouse gas emissions, production carbon footprint, project maturity, replicability and cost-effectiveness. The results are expected to be announced in the second half of 2025, followed by the preparation and signing of grant agreements.

All projects that meet the evaluation criteria will receive a STEP label awarded by the Commission, regardless of whether they are selected for funding. STEP-labelled projects are promoted by the Commission with a view to potentially attracting funding from other public or private sources. Projects will be automatically notified if they have received a STEP seal following the evaluation process. No separate application is required to receive a STEP seal. The list and map of current STEP seal projects can be found here.

In addition, the Commission encourages Member States to consider using grant funding as a service, allowing them to support projects located on their territory based on the Innovation Fund’s assessment and with streamlined approval of state aid. The aim is to maximise support for excellent and innovative projects across the EU to promote the transition to clean energy.

In partnership with the European Commission, the European Investment Bank will provide support for the development of projects

(PDA) to support both promising projects that have not been selected for grant funding under the Innovation Fund’s calls for proposals and new projects that are seeking to apply. Selected projects will receive tailored technical and financial advisory support to improve their maturity and increase their chances of success in future calls for proposals under the Innovation Fund.