Q Power wishes to remind its customers that the Innovation Fund 2025 – Net Zero Technologies (INNOVFUND-2025-NZT) call for proposals is now open. This call provides significant funding opportunities for innovative low-carbon technologies across the EU/EEA. Funding is available for projects in energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, as well as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCU/CCS) – all key areas for Q Power and its customers.
About the Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund is one of the EU’s most important climate-action financing instruments and one of the world’s largest funding programmes dedicated to low-carbon technologies. Its purpose is to accelerate the deployment of innovative technologies that can substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support Europe’s transition toward climate neutrality. The Fund is a central financial tool for achieving the EU’s obligations under the Paris Agreement.
Types of Funding Under the Innovation Fund
The Innovation Fund provides support through the following mechanisms:
- Auctions Competitive auction-based support schemes for specific technologies (e.g. hydrogen under separate calls).
- Grants, divided into the following project categories:
- Large-scale projects: capital expenditure above €100 million
- Medium-scale projects: €20–100 million
- Small-scale projects: €2.5–20 million
- Pilot projects: above €2.5 million
- Clean Tech Manufacturing: above €2.5 million
In addition, the EIB’s project development assistance (PDA) offers expert and financial support for projects that require further development to become investment-ready and meet the Innovation Fund’s eligibility criteria.
High Funding Intensity
Innovation Fund financing may cover:
- up to 60% of relevant costs for grant topics
- up to 100% of relevant costs under competitive auction schemes
Relevant costs are calculated according to the call methodology and typically include capital and operational expenditures minus revenues over the first ten years of operation.
Grants are disbursed progressively according to financing needs and achievement of milestones. In grant topics, up to 40% of the total grant may be paid before entry into operation, subject to predefined milestones.
Eligibility – Who Can Receive Funding
Funding is awarded to projects that:
- deliver substantial greenhouse gas emission avoidance or enable production of low-carbon products substituting carbon-intensive ones in ETS sectors
- advance innovation in low-carbon technologies and processes, CCS, CCU, renewable energy and innovative energy storage solutions
- demonstrate hydrogen use in industry (energy carrier, reducing agent or feedstock)
- are sufficiently mature to reach an investment decision
- can be scaled and replicated across the EU
- contribute cost-effectively to the EU’s net-zero objective
The Innovation Fund is financed through revenues from EU ETS allowance auctions. Funding is allocated to solutions that deliver scalable and cost-efficient emission reductions.
Key Dates for the IF25NZT Call
- 4 December 2025 – Call opens
- 16 December 2025 – Innovation Fund 2025 Info Day (online event via CINEA)
- 23 April 2026 at 17:00 (CEST) – Call closes
- Q3 2026 – Evaluation results
- Q1 2027 (expected) –Grant agreements and PDA awards
Relevance of Q Power Technologies
Q Power’s Power-to-X solutions – including synthetic methane production technologies, carbon capture and utilisation solutions, and hydrogen production technologies – directly align with the priorities of the Innovation Fund call. These technologies enable the development of projects that meet the Fund’s evaluation criteria for degree of innovation, GHG emission avoidance, project maturity and replicability, and may therefore qualify for funding at very high support levels.
More information: https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/innovation-fund_en
Applications must be submitted through the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.
