Belgium, (Brussels Morning) Clean technologies received today a new boost from the European Commission, with the launch of the third call for large-scale projects under the EU Innovation Fund.
With a budget doubled to €3 billion, thanks to increased revenue from the auctioning of EU Emissions Trading System allowances, this 2022 call for clean tech projects is expected to increase the deployment of industrial solutions to decarbonise Europe.
“With this new call of € 3 billion, the EU Innovation Fund will support even more clean tech projects than before, speeding up the replacement of fossil fuels in hard-to-decarbonise industries and accelerating the uptake of renewable hydrogen in the EU market,” said the Commission’s Executive President Frans Timmermans.
With a special focus on the priorities of the REPowerEU Plan, the call provides additional support towards ending the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
“Today more than ever, we need to boost innovation and scale up technological solutions that tackle the climate crisis and bring Europe energy sovereignty. The faster we do so, the quicker we will become immune to Russian energy blackmail,’’ added Timmermans.
Projects’ scope
The EU funding contemplates different areas related to the decarbonisation of the economy and society across the bloc, including €1 billion for general decarbonization, which will give preference to projects in renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage or carbon capture, use, and storage, as well as products substituting carbon-intensive ones, notably low-carbon transport fuels, including for maritime and aviation.
Another focus will be on innovative electrification in industry and hydrogen, with a budget of €1 billion too. The EU will seek innovative projects in electrification methods to replace fossil fuel use in industry as well as renewable hydrogen production or hydrogen uptake in industry.
Nearly another €1 billion (€0.7 billion) will be disbursed for clean tech manufacturing as well as final equipment for electrolysers and fuel cells, renewable energy, energy storage and heat pumps.
Finally, the EU executive will provide €0.3 billion for mid-sized pilots seeking highly innovative projects in disruptive or breakthrough technologies in deep decarbonisation in all eligible sectors of the EU Innovation Fund.
Applying
Interested parties can apply via the dedicated EU portal where information on the overall procedure is available.
Applicants will be informed about the results of the evaluation in the second quarter of 2023 and the grant awards and signature of projects will take place in the fourth quarter of 2023.
