The European Commission (EC) has allocated €2.9 billion funding from the Innovation Fund to support 61 net-zero technology projects across 18 countries and 19 industrial sectors. The funding, sourced from revenues under the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), follows the first call for net-zero technologies launched in December 2024. The initiative aims to strengthen Europe’s technological leadership and accelerate the commercial deployment of advanced decarbonisation solutions. The selected projects cover a wide range of applications in energy-intensive industries, renewable energy and energy storage, net-zero mobility, sustainable buildings, industrial carbon management, and cleantech manufacturing.
These projects are expected to collectively offset an estimated 221 million tonnes of carbon emission during their first decade of operation. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of approximately 9.9 million average European cars. Developers of the selected projects have been invited to begin the grant agreement process with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency. This phase will involve the EC and the selected project promoters finalising the funding contracts, budgets, timelines, legal responsibilities and technical deliverables, with the results scheduled for confirmation in the first half of 2026.
The Innovation Fund, supported by estimated revenues of €40 billion from the EU ETS, seeks to promote investment in low-carbon and net-zero technologies aligned with Europe’s climate neutrality objectives. The latest call attracted 359 applications requesting a cumulative of €21.7 billion in support, exceeding the available budget of €2.4 billion by more than nine times. All the awarded projects were chosen through an independent evaluation based on greenhouse gas emission reduction potential, innovation, project maturity, replicability, and cost efficiency. The Innovation Fund’s portfolio now comprises more than 270 projects, with total commitments reaching €15.6 billion.
