EU's €40B Innovation Fund opens 2025 calls for clean tech and hydrogen

The EU Innovation Fund, Europe’s largest grant program for low-carbon technologies, has opened its 2025 call cycle with a total budget of €40 billion spanning 2020-2030. Managed by the European Commission, the fund aims to accelerate climate neutrality by 2050 by supporting innovative CO2-reducing projects in energy-intensive industries, renewable energy, energy storage, CCUS, net-zero mobility, and buildings. Applications are assessed on greenhouse gas reduction potential, innovativeness, maturity, replicability, and cost-effectiveness. Crucially, projects must demonstrate at least 75% of the calculated emission avoidance to receive the full grant amount.

Specific 2025 calls include: the general Net Zero Technologies call (open 4 Dec 2025 – 23 Apr 2026) covering decarbonization initiatives and component manufacturing for renewables, storage, heat pumps, and hydrogen; the Batteries call for innovative EV battery cell production; the IF25 Pilot Heat Auction (€1 billion, open 3 Dec 2025 – Feb 2026) targeting industrial process heat decarbonization via electrification (heat pumps, electric boilers, induction heating) and renewable heat (solar thermal, geothermal); and the Renewable Hydrogen Auction (€1.2 billion, open 3 Dec 2025 – Feb 2026) offering a fixed premium per kg of hydrogen to bridge production cost gaps, with €200 million reserved for maritime applications. Companies of all sizes—including SMEs—are eligible.