Innovation Fund 2024

Innovation Fund call 2024 - Hydrogen auction

Two calls have opened from the Innovation Fund for the RFNBO hydrogen auction.

• INNOVFUND-2024-AUC-RFNBOH2-GENERAL – Fixed Premium Auction for RFNBO hydrogen production – ‘GENERAL’
• INNOVFUND-2024-AUC-RFNBOH2-MARITIME - Fixed Premium Auction for RFNBO hydrogen production for the maritime sector – ‘MARITIME’

Beneficiaries: legal entities (public or private bodies)

Types of operations to be supported: Installation of new, additional, RFNBO hydrogen production capacity (i.e. hydrogen production capacity for which at the time of the grant application the start of works did not yet take place) as well as the verified and certified production of RFNBO hydrogen from those installations (in kg of produced volume) for a period of up to 10 years.

• The bid price per unit is expected to cover the premium required by the producer, i.e. the difference between the expected revenues from the sale of one unit and the unit’s levelized cost.

• The RFNBO hydrogen produced can be sold to any buyer, consumed internally or stored. The definition of RFNBO applies to hydrogen purchased by any buyer.

• For the maritime sectors, projects under this topic must supply at least 60% of their expected total volume of production as stated in the bid to off-takers belonging to the maritime sector. Projects will have to respect the specific implementation conditions concerning supply to off-takers in the maritime sector. An off-taker will be considered to belong to the maritime sector, if it will use the hydrogen produced by the project or the hydrogen derivative produced by the integrated project for carrying out/making use of bunkering activities in ports within the EU/EEA. Fuel traders and/or intermediaries (including storage facilities), are not eligible as off-takers, neither are virtual agreements. The remaining 40% of their expected total volume of produced RFNBO hydrogen can be sold to any off-taker or self-consumed or stored. The RFNBO definition applies to hydrogen purchased by any off-taker (not only in transport).

Only projects that have a minimum installed electrolysis capacity of 5 MWe will be considered eligible.

Projects must limit the sourcing of electrolyser stacks with surface treatment or cell unit production or stack assembly carried out in China to no more than 25% (in MWe) of the total electrolyser capacity.

Budget: EUR 1 MM (GENERAL) and EUR 200 M (MARITIME)

Grant and Maximum Bid

The grant amount requested must respect the following conditions:

• Calculation formula

*Bid price (fixed premium in EUR per kg) 

*Expected Average annual production volume: Expected production in kilograms per year.

*10 year: maximum period of operation supported by the grant

• Budget limit:
  • GENERAL - not exceed 1/4 of the topic budget
  • MARITIME - not exceed the topic budget
• Maximum Bid: not exceed EUR 4/kg of RFNBO hydrogen produced. (Proposals with bid prices above the ceiling price will be rejected.)
• The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.

Deadline for submitting applications: until 20/02/2025 (17h - Brussels)

For more information, see: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/innovfund/wp-call/2024/call-fiche_innovfund-2024-auc-rfnbo-hydrogen_en.pdf

Innovation Fund call 2024 - Net Zero Technologies

The Innovation Fund has opened 5 calls for low-carbon technologies:

• INNOVFUND-2024-NZT - General decarbonisation: The general large-scale, medium-scale or small-scale topics will support projects demonstrating highly innovative technologies, processes, business models or products and services, that are sufficiently mature and have a significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). 

• INNOVFUND-2024-NZT - Cleantech manufacturing: The cleantech manufacturing topic will contribute to build industrial capacity, technology leadership, and supply chain resilience within the EU. In fact, it will foster innovative manufacturing in cleantech for H2, renewable energy, and energy storage.

• INNOVFUND-2024-NZT - Pilot projects: The pilots topic will support highly innovative, disruptive or breakthrough technologies in deep decarbonization in an operation environment.

Incentive/grant

The incentive will be calculated on the basis of the relevant costs (net costs, calculated as the difference between the best estimate of the economic costs (investment and operating) and the economic revenues and operating benefits). Selected projects can receive up to 60% of the relevant costs.

Non eligible activities

• The manufacture of battery cells that can be used in electric vehicles (including as part of integrated projects).

• Projects focused on services, including software, which primarily aim to improve the efficient use of the products listed in Annexes I and III of the EU ETS. This exclusion does not apply to mobility projects where the activity directly reduces climate impacts.

• Construction or renovation of ships or aircraft outside the EU/EEA.

Deadline for submitting applications: until 24/04/2025 (17h - Brussels)

For more information, see: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/innovfund/wp-call/2024/call-fiche_innovfund-2024-nzt_en.pdf