The European Commission has awarded about €400 million to 65 projects in 10 European Economic Area countries to cut carbon emissions from industrial heat production.
The selected projects are in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain, the Commission disclosed on Friday.
They are expected to avoid more than 6.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over 10 years by replacing natural gas-fuelled heat systems.
The projects are also expected to produce about 16.3 terawatt-hours of decarbonised heat in their first five years of operation, with a combined thermal capacity of 766 megawatts.
That heat output is equivalent to replacing more than 1.5 billion cubic metres of natural gas over five years — roughly comparable to the annual gas use of 4 million EU households.
The grants will be funded through the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), a carbon market that requires certain sectors to buy allowances for their emissions.
Technologies and timeline
Most of the projects use direct or indirect resistance heating, with others using technologies including heat pumps, solar thermal, electromagnetic and dielectric heating, and hybrid systems, according to the Commission.
The projects cover industries including pulp and paper, glass, ceramics and construction materials, iron and steel, food and beverage, textiles and pharmaceuticals.
The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) will start preparing grant agreements with the selected projects.
The agreements are expected to be signed in the second half of 2026.
A second round of the Heat Auction is planned for 2026 with a budget of €1 billion, with draft terms and conditions due by the end of May 2026.
