About
The Innovation Fund awards grants through calls for proposals and auctions (competitive bidding).
On 4 December 2025, the Commission will launch the third Innovation Fund auction for hydrogen production under the European Hydrogen Bank (IF25 Hydrogen Auction). At the same time, the first Europe-wide auction aimed at decarbonising industrial process heat under the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank will open (IF25 Heat Auction).
IF25 Hydrogen Auction
The auction is designed to provide cost-efficient support for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) hydrogen and/or electrolytic low-carbon hydrogen across the European Economic Area (EEA). In doing so, it aims to strengthen the security of supply for essential goods and reinforce Europe’s industrial leadership and competitiveness in the hydrogen sector.
- The auction call is published
- Bidders submit qualification documents and bids (€/kh of H2)
- Bidders’ qualification documents are checked and bids are ranked on price
- Bidders are notified if they passed the prequalification
- Bids are awarded until the budget cap is reached and the auction is cleared
- The auction outcomes are published
- Winners sign the grant agreement
- Project construction and entry into operation
- Winners receive support upon production of H2, by volume
IF25 Heat Auction
Building on the success of the hydrogen auctions, a new Innovation Fund heat auction was announced under the Clean Industrial Deal. This auction targets one of the biggest sources of EU industrial CO2 emissions: process heating.
It aims at supporting the market uptake of electrified and direct renewable heat technologies in industrial process heating, advancing the decarbonisation of European industry. The auction is open to projects of all sizes and across all industrial sectors and throughout the EEA.
- The auction call is published
- Bidders submit qualification documents and bids (€/tCO2 abated)
- Bidders’ qualification documents are checked and bids are ranked on price
- Bidders are notified if they passed the prequalification
- Bids are awarded until the budget cap is reached and the auction is cleared
- The auction outcomes are published
- Winners sign the grant agreement
- Project construction and entry into operation
- Winners receive support according to the volume of decarbonised heat production
Timeline IF25 Hydrogen Auction and IF25 Heat Auction
- 19 February 2026Auctions close
17:00 CET (Brussels time)
- Q2 20256Auctions results
- Q3 2026Contracts with the winning bidders are signed
Previous calls
Check the results of the previous calls:
- IF24 Call | IF24 Battery Call | IF24 Auction
- IF23 Call | IF23 Auction
- Additionally three large-scale calls and three small-scale calls ran between 2020 and 2023.
For more information about the awarded projects, visit the Innovation Fund project portfolio.
