THE European Innovation Fund today constitutes one of the main European levers for financing the first industrial deployment low carbon technologies. Financed by revenues from the Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and managed by the European Commissionthe system targets projects sufficiently mature to cross the critical threshold between demonstration and commercial viability. The call is aimed at actors capable of proving a massive, quantified and reproducible climate impact on a European scale.
What to remember
The Innovation Fund is neither a research program nor a general grant window. It finances industrial assets (factories, infrastructure, processes) intended to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the sectors that are most difficult to decarbonize. The amounts mobilized are counted in tens, even hundreds of millions of euros per projectwith a selection based on carbon impact, maturity and economic efficiency.
Why this call is strategic
Unlike traditional R&D programs, the Innovation Fund intervenes where the risk is no longer scientific but industrial, financial and operational. It assumes the role of public de-risker on “first-of-a-kind” projects that the market is still struggling to finance on its own.
For the European Union, the challenge is twofold: maintain climate trajectories while anchoring critical industrial capacities on European territory (energy, materials, fuels, processes).
Targeted projects and sectors
The call covers a broad spectrum of net-zero emissions technologies, as long as they are ready for initial industrial deployment:
- Energy-intensive industries : steel, cement, chemicals, glass, paper.
- Advanced Renewables And energy storage.
- Renewable hydrogen and derivatives.
- Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).
- Sustainable fuels for industry and heavy mobility.
- Low carbon industrial heat technologies.
The central criterion remains the net emissions reduction over ten yearscompared to a credible reference situation.
Who can apply
The device is open to any legal entity established in a Member State of the European Union or in an EEA country participating in the ETS.
The application can be made by a business alone or by a consortiumwithout obligation of partnership. The project, on the other hand, must be located in Europe and demonstrate a measurable impact on European emissions.
What the Fund actually finances
Support takes the form of grants covering up to 60% of additional costs linked to innovationcompared to a reference technology.
In particular, the following are eligible:
- industrial investments (CAPEX),
- engineering, integration and scaling,
- costs linked to technological innovation,
- expenses required to achieve first commercial deployment.
The project must be fundablewith a clear trajectory towards the final investment decision (FID).
Evaluation criteria
Each file is evaluated by independent experts according to five structuring axes:
- Climate impact : volume of emissions avoided over ten years.
- Degree of innovation : unprecedented nature of the technology on an industrial scale.
- Project maturity : engineering, authorizations, financing, governance.
- Scalability and reproducibility : ability to be duplicated elsewhere in Europe.
- Economic efficiency : cost of the subsidy compared to the tonne of CO₂ avoided.
The selection is technologically and geographically neutral : no quota per country or per sector.
Principle calendar
The Innovation Fund works through annual callswith a long cycle:
- opening of the call at the end of the year,
- closing in spring,
- evaluation over several months,
- notification of results in the fall,
- signature of grant agreements the following year.
Between the preparation of the file and the actual start of the project, 12 to 18 months can flow.
For more information: https://www.rasph.com/fr/innovation-fund-2026
