Thanks to the Innovation Fund, created as part of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), some €10 billion will be invested by the EU to encourage innovative low-carbon technologies between 2020 and 2030, the European Commission recalled on Tuesday 26 February.
It announced that the first call for proposals will be launched in 2020 and followed by regular calls until 2030.
“We are today unleashing technological solutions in all Member States and pressing the fast-forward button in our transition to a modern and climate-neutral society in Europe”, comments the Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete. To achieve this objective by 2050, the EU must increase technological innovation in energy, construction, transport, industry and agriculture, according to the draft long-term climate strategy currently under discussion in the EU Council (see EUROPE 12201).
Fed by 450 million ETS allowances (currently priced at €20/tonne) and undisbursed revenue from the NER 300 programme, this fund will support demonstration projects for carbon capture and storage (CCS) and renewable energy technologies, as well as highly innovative technologies in energy storage and energy-intensive industries. It will allow loans to cover up to 60% of the capital and additional operational costs related to innovation for the selected projects, and to disburse the money in a flexible and adapted way to the needs of the different projects. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)