Third call for large-scale projects
The Innovation Fund’s third call for large-scale projects was launched on 3 November 2022. The REPowerEU Plan announced the contribution of the Innovation Fund to further support the EU’s independence from Russian fossil fuels and accelerate Europe’s green transition.
With a budget doubled to EUR 3 billion thanks to increased revenue from the auctioning of EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) allowances, this third call counts four topics, three of which are part of REPowerEU:
- Innovative electrification in industry and hydrogen (budget: EUR 1 billion)
- Clean tech manufacturing (supporting manufacturing of components and final equipment such as electrolysers and fuel cells, innovative renewable equipment, energy storage, or heat pumps), (budget: EUR 700 million)
- “Mid-sized pilots” projects for validating, testing and optimising highly innovative solutions (budget: EUR 300 million)
- General decarbonisation, which isavailable to all projects eligible for the Innovation Fund except those which fall under dedicated RePowerEU topics (budget: EUR 1 billion).
Project applicants, please use the EU Funding and Tenders portal, where you can find further information on the overall procedure.
Timeline
Event | Timing (expected) |
3 November 2022 | |
Deadline for submission of applications | 16 March 2023 – 17:00 CET |
Information on evaluation results | Q2 2023 |
Award of the grants and project development assistance | Q4 2023 |
The Commission has consulted the stakeholders on the scoping of the topics and conducted a survey to gauge the industry’s interest and readiness to apply for funding in specific thematic areas under the Innovation Fund in “clean-tech manufacturing” and for “mid-sized pilots”. The outcome of consultations and the survey were presented at the 10th meeting of the Innovation Fund Expert Group (Presentation by DG CLIMA)
Overview of the second call for large-scale project proposals
The second call for large-scale projects was launched on 26 October 2021. With a budget of EUR 1.5 billion, which constitutes a 50% increase compared to the previous call, it aimed to finance breakthrough technologies for renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage.
The deadline to submit an application was 3 March 2022 and the Commission received 139 applications in all eligible categories. They were evaluated by external evaluators against the award criteria: potential for greenhouse gases emission avoidance, degree of innovation, project maturity, scalability, and cost efficiency.
The evaluation results were communicated to applicants on 11 July 2022. 17 projects were selected for grant agreement preparation, covering a wide range of relevant sectors to decarbonise different parts of Europe's industry and energy. The total grants amount to more than EUR 1.8 billion and will support projects aiming to bring breakthrough technologies to the market in energy-intensive industries, hydrogen, renewable energy, carbon capture and storage infrastructure, and manufacturing of key components for energy storage and renewables.
- List of projects selected for grant preparations and project descriptions
- Map of projects selected for grant preparations:
In addition, rejected proposals which met minimum requirements and have the strongest potential to improve their maturity will be offered project development assistance (PDA) by the European Investment Bank. The list of projects awarded project development assistance will be announced in autumn 2022.
Event | Timing (expected) |
26 October 2021 | |
Deadline for submission of applications | 3 March 2022 |
11 July 2022 | |
Award of the grants and project development assistance | Q4 2022 |
The call text and supporting documents are available on the Funding and Tender Portal. For any question related to the call, please contact the dedicated helpdesk.
Best practices and statistics from previous Calls for Proposals
This set of documents aims to support applicants to the Innovation Fund in preparing successful bids. The first document consolidates best practices and mistakes to avoid, following an analysis of the 2020 calls for large- and small-scale proposals. The second document presents the most relevant statistics on proposals submitted in the First Call for Large-Scale Projects.
Disclaimer! The documents do not represent guidance to future applicants. Future applicants are invited to consult the Funding and Tender Portal and all documents available there.
Overview of the first call for large-scale project proposals & next steps
The first call for large-scale projects opened on 3 July 2020 with a budget of EUR 1 billion for breakthrough technologies for renewable energy, energy-intensive industries, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage. The call closed on 29 October 2020. We received 311 applications for innovative clean tech projects, promising to reduce around 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 during their operating period within the Innovation Fund. Further analysis shows the main technological pathways employed in the proposed projects.
The proposals that fulfilled the admissibility and eligibility conditions have been assessed against the award criteria of the first stage by independent external evaluators. In March 2021, the best-ranked 70 applicants were invited to submit full project proposals for the second stage of the call, which closed on 23 June 2021. We have received 66 applications which were evaluated by external evaluators against all the 5 Innovation Fund award criteria: potential for greenhouse gases emission avoidance, degree of innovation, project maturity, scalability and cost efficiency.
In addition, rejected proposals which met some minimum requirements and have the strongest potential to improve their maturity were offered project development assistance (PDA) provided by the European Investment Bank. The Commission has adopted the first PDA award decision in July 2021, and it was followed by signature of individual PDA agreements by the EIB and implementation of the PDA services.
15 large-scale projects were selected to receive PDA for the 1st call. The support, provided as a tailor-made technical assistance by the European Investment Bank aims to advance their financial, technical or operational maturity, with a view of potential re-submission under future Innovation Fund calls.
The information on the evaluation results from the second stage was communicated to applicants on 16 November 2021. 7 projects were selected for funding under the first Innovation Fund call for large-scale projects and cover a wide range of relevant sectors to decarbonise different parts of Europe's industry and energy sectors, such as chemicals, steel, cement, refineries, and power and heat.
- List of projects selected for grant preparations and project descriptions
- Map of projects selected for grant preparations and offered PDA
These successful projects are invited to start their grant agreement preparations with CINEA. Grants will be awarded in the first quarter of 2022.
| Event | Timing |
|---|---|
| Launch of the first large-scale call | 3 July 2020 |
| Deadline for submission of applications to 1st stage | 29 October 2020 |
| Information on evaluation results and invitation for the 2nd stage | March 2021 |
| Deadline for submission of applications to 2nd stage | 23 June 2021 |
| PDA award decision | 27 July 2021 |
| Information on 2nd stage evaluation results | 16 November 2021 |
| Award of the grants | March 2022 |
You will find all information and documentation needed at the Funding and Tenders Portal, including the call text, application forms, Frequently Asked Questions and the helpdesk for additional questions.
More information is also available on CINEA website.
