The European Commission has selected 77 net-zero technology projects across 23 European Economic Area countries for €3.4 billion in funding under the EU’s Innovation Fund.
The projects span energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, clean-tech manufacturing, net-zero mobility, critical raw materials processing and recycling, alternative fuels and industrial carbon management, the Commission announced on Monday.
A small modular nuclear reactor project and a direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) project — which removes carbon dioxide from the air and stores it — were included for the first time.
The Commission said it estimates the 77 projects could avoid the equivalent of around 290 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over their first decade of operations.
Funding is being awarded through a call launched in December 2025, using revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) — the bloc’s carbon market for certain sectors.
How the funding is split
The selected projects include 12 large-scale projects requesting around €1.58 billion, 17 medium-scale projects requesting around €458 million and 20 small-scale projects requesting around €124 million, the Commission said.
Another 12 projects were selected under a clean-tech manufacturing category requesting almost €895 million, covering components such as heat pumps, solar panels, electrolysers and electric vehicle batteries, as well as a facility producing rare earth magnets.
A further 16 pilot projects were selected requesting around €394 million, spanning areas including aviation, wind and ocean energy, nuclear energy, hydrogen, chemicals, refineries and DACCS.
The call drew 358 applications seeking €17.5 billion in grants, exceeding the available budget of €2.9 billion.
Grant agreement preparations will be carried out with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), with the results of that process due to be announced in the first quarter of 2027.
“These projects show that Europe’s innovators are turning climate ambition into industrial leadership,” Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth Wopke Hoekstra stated.
