The European Commission is offering €3 billion under the 3rd call for large scale projects under the EU Innovation Fund with a special focus on priorities under REPowerEU, that can boost the deployment of industrial solutions to decarbonize Europe.
The latest call will provide additional support towards ending the European Union's (EU) dependence on Russian fossil fuels. There are 4 broad segments under which the budget will be distributed.
A total of €1 billion under general decarbonization will be awarded to innovative projects in renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage or carbon capture, use and storage. Products substituting those with high carbon intensity will also be considered under this.
Another €1 billion has been reserved for innovative electrification in industry and hydrogen, in terms of renewable hydrogen production or hydrogen uptake.
A budget of €0.7 billion will be awarded for clean tech manufacturing meaning innovative projects in manufacturing of components, and final equipment for electrolyzers and fuel cells, renewable energy, energy storage and heat pumps.
Mid-sized pilots with €0.3 billion budget will seek highly innovative facilities in disruptive or breakthrough technologies in deep decarbonization in all eligible sectors of the fund.
Hopefuls will be evaluated on the basis of their level of innovation, potential to avoid GHG emissions, operational, financial and technical maturity, along with their scaling up potential and cost efficiency.
One of the world's largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies, the EU Innovation Fund defines large scale projects as those with a capital expenditure of over €7.5 million, and those below this level are categorized as small-scale projects.
The fund is funded by polluters that pay for their GHG emissions via the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
Projects located in EU member states, Iceland and Norway will be admitted with submission to be accepted till March 16, 2023. Details are available on the EC website. Winners will be announced in Q2/2023.
Enel Green Power's (EGP) 3 GW Heterojunction (HJT) Cell and Module Factory project in Italy was among one of the 7 innovative large scale projects that won Innovation Fund's 1st round in November 2021 (see 3 GW Bifacial HJT Modules Fab In Europe). Among the winners of the 2nd large-scale round was REC Group's 2 GW HJT module manufacturing project in France (see REC Group's French Plans Win EU Funding). The Fund also has a 'small-scale' project component for which a few solar projects have been selected as well (see Innovative EU Projects Selected For €118 Million Funding).
The EU Innovation Fund currently has an estimated volume of around €38 billion until 2030. Once the Fit for 55 package is final, the EC expects the fund to be substantially increased.
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