Deadline Date: April 23, 2026
This call for proposals for EU action grants under the Innovation Fund is launched to support the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies and processes and is managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).
These topics aim to support and advance innovative low-carbon technologies and processes to significantly mitigate climate change in sectors listed in Annex I and Annex III to the ETS Directive 2003/87, promoting sustainable development and technological leadership within Europe, innovation in low-carbon technologies and processes in sectors listed in Annex I and Annex III to the ETS Directive 2003/87, including projects focusing on the utilization of waste heat and improvements in electrification and energy efficiency within industrial processes and energy systems, activities involving environmentally safe carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) that significantly mitigate climate change, development of products that substitute carbon-intensive ones produced in sectors listed in Annex I to the ETS Directive, and activities supporting the construction and operation of projects focused on the environmentally safe capture and geological storage of CO2 (CCS).
The call is implemented within the regulatory framework established by Regulation 2024/2509 (EU Financial Regulation), the Innovation Fund Regulation 2019/856, and the ETS Directive 2003/87, and is launched in accordance with the 2025 Financing Decision. Funding under this opportunity supports large-scale demonstration projects that contribute to climate change mitigation by advancing low-carbon solutions across industrial and energy sectors covered by the EU Emissions Trading System. The scope includes innovation-driven activities that enhance electrification, energy efficiency, and sustainable production pathways, as well as projects that enable the safe capture, utilisation, and storage of carbon dioxide.
The estimated available call budget is EUR 2,900,000,000, subject to resource availability, with the possibility of an increase of up to 20 percent. Within this framework, the topic INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-LSP has an allocated budget of EUR 1,200,000,000.
Eligible applicants must be legal entities, either public or private bodies, and may be established in any country worldwide. Beneficiaries and affiliated entities are required to register in the Participant Register prior to proposal submission and undergo validation by the Central Validation Service, including the provision of documentation demonstrating legal status and origin.
For more information, visit European Commission.
