The Innovation Fund’s latest round has awarded funding to a diverse array of projects aimed at accelerating Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Key areas of focus include energy intensive industries, renewables, energy storage, carbon capture use & storage and net-zero mobility & buildings.
Nine projects adding up to over EUR 685 million in funding
Through the years, the Innovation Fund has increased its budgets – which are generated from auctioning EU Emission Trading System (ETS) allowances. This is one of the reasons for larger and more impactful projects that receive funding. With an average success rate of 43% (EU-average: 15% over the first 4 years of the program) PNO is able to boast a consistent and high level of quality. Which is why we are so pleased with the nine Innovation Fund projects which we have been privileged to support, and which have been selected for Grant Agreement Preparation. Together they add up to more than EUR 685 million in funding and lead to over 58M tCO2e GHG emission reductions in the first ten years of their operation!
With projects spread across diverse sectors such as maritime, cement & lime, chemicals, hydrogen, renewables manufacturing, storage manufacturing and aviation, we have been able to put our expertise to use in many different areas.
Topical and relevant
Over the last four rounds, the Innovation Fund remained both topical and relevant. Topical, because the fund moves with the major developments – not only in terms of innovative low-carbon technologies, but also in relation to (geo)politics from which, for example, comes the need to increase energy security and industrial resilience. Also, the increased participation of smaller countries such as Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia from 2021 reflects an increasing effort to include more regions across the EU.
In addition, clean technologies have developed rapidly in recent years. The importance of the Innovation Fund is increasing because it provides crucial support for scaling up these technologies from pilot projects to full commercial deployment, which is necessary for achieving cost reduction and widespread adoption. We find that companies across Europe are increasingly interested in using the Innovation Fund to accelerate their green innovations, future-proof their operations and adapt to stricter emissions regulations.
Excellent knowledge and experience within PNO Group
With experts in all relevant sectors and spread across Europe, PNO Group is able to deliver superior quality support for Innovation Fund project and application development. In the last round, experts from CiaoTech in Italy, Arttic in France, EGEN, PNO Chemistry and PNO in Greece, Germany, Belgium, France and Portugal contributed to the submission of Innovation Fund applications, and the impetus for the next round is already in place.
If you have plans for or are involved in a project that may qualify for the Innovation Fund, please contact us.
Our Innovation Fund experts will be happy to look into it with you.
