Innovation Fund: lessons learned from the first call for small-scale projects and state aid support

The first call for small-scale proposals, which closed on 10 March 2021, resulted in 32 projects invited to prepare individual grant agreements. With the next small-scale call coming up in March 2022, this is a good moment to take stock of lessons learned from this call and what applicants could improve for the next one. We will present an aggregated analysis of the applications and the results of the first call, highlighting key best practices for a successful application.

In addition, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition will present the revised Climate, Energy and Environmental Aid Guidelines (CEEAG) which are applicable to schemes that can finance projects similar to those supported by the Innovation Fund. A representative from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency will also present the SDE++ (Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition), the Dutch subsidy programme providing support for clean tech initiatives.  

If you missed it, you can watch the recording and see the presentations.

Agenda

• 15.00 – 15.10   Welcome and introduction
• 15.10 – 15.45   Lessons learned and best practices from the first call for small-scale projects and tips for a successful application – Presentation by DG Climate Action, CINEA and ICF
• 15.45 – 16.00   Q&A
• 16.00 – 16.10   Stimulation of Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition (SDE++) – Presentation by Jan Bouke Agterhuis, Senior Advisor, The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO)
• 16.10 – 16.30   Guidelines on State aid for Climate, Environmental Protection and Energy (CEEAG) - Presentation by DG Competition
• 16.30 – 16.50   Q&A

More information

With its around EUR 25 billion (depending on the price of carbon) of support over 2020-2030, the Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies, aiming to bring to the market industrial solutions to decarbonise Europe.

On 1 December 2020, the Commission launched the first call for small-scale projects (total capital costs between EUR 2.5 and 7.5 million) with a budget of EUR 100 million for breakthrough technologies in the energy-intensive industries, renewables, energy storage, and carbon capture, use and storage. Applicants were informed about the results of the evaluation process in July and successful applicants were invited to start the grant preparation process. Grants will be awarded at the end of 2021.

For more information on the lessons learned from thefirst stage of the first call for large-scale projects, you can check the recording and presentations from the event we organised on 28 April 2021.