Innovation Fund 2025 Net Zero Technologies - Clean-tech manufacturing

The Innovation Fund 2025 Net Zero Technologies call, identified as INNOVFUND-2025-NZT, represents an EU funding opportunity to support projects aiming for net-zero technologies within clean-tech manufacturing. This program is open for applications from December 4, 2025, to April 23, 2026, with a total budget of €2.9 billion allocated for various topics, including clean-tech manufacturing, general industrial sectors, and pilot projects.

Funding is provided through INNOVFUND Lump Sum Grants, which allow for straightforward financial management via fixed amounts based on project specifications rather than actual expenditures. Applicants can receive up to 60% of relevant project costs, necessitating co-funding to cover the remaining 40% from other sources, such as private investments or national support.

Eligible participants typically include large enterprises, industrial operators, and consortia that exhibit the capacity for transformative clean-tech projects. Projects must focus on advanced technological solutions aimed at significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, especially in energy-intensive industries like iron and steel, renewable energy, hydrogen production, and carbon capture technologies.

The grants are intended for projects in the demonstration and early commercialization phases, requiring maturity in planning and a well-structured business model before approval. The single-stage application process will involve a comprehensive proposal submission evaluated on criteria such as technological innovation, environmental impact, and overall project feasibility.

Applicants must navigate a detailed call document outlining admissibility criteria, geographic eligibility, evaluation processes, and legal frameworks relevant to the funding. The call encompasses all EU Member States as well as Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Norway, promoting a vast area for collaboration in transitioning to sustainable industrial practices.

Overall, this opportunity is crucial for accelerating the deployment of innovative manufacturing technologies to meet European climate-neutral goals by 2050, providing substantial financial resources for ambitious projects capable of significant environmental impact.

The Innovation Fund 2025 Net Zero Technologies call (INNOVFUND-2025-NZT) is an EU funding opportunity under the Innovation Fund program. It supports projects contributing to net-zero technologies. The call utilizes InnovFund-LS INNOVFUND Lump Sum Grants as the type of action and INNOVFUND Lump Sum Grant [InnovFund-AG-LS] as the type of Model Grant Agreement (MGA).

The call is open for submission with a single-stage deadline model. The opening date was December 4, 2025, and the deadline for submissions is April 23, 2026, at 17:00:00 Brussels time.

The submission session is available for the following topics: INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-MSP, INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-LSP, INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-CLEAN-TECH-MANUFACTURING, INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-SSP, and INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-PILOTS.

The total budget for the call is EUR 2,900,000,000.

The admissibility conditions, eligible countries, other eligible conditions, financial and operational capacity and exclusion, submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring and thresholds, indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement, and legal and financial set-up of the grants are described in sections 5, 6, 6, 7, 8 & 11, 8 & 9, 4, and 10 of the call document, respectively.

Applicants must adhere to the proposal page limit and layout as described in section 5 of the call document. Eligible countries are detailed in section 6 of the call document, along with other eligibility conditions. The financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are outlined in section 7. The submission and evaluation processes are described in sections 8 and 11, while the award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are in sections 8 and 9. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is in section 4, and the legal and financial set-up of the grants is in section 10.

The call document and annexes include: the call document itself, the methodology for calculation of GHG emission avoidance, the methodology for calculation of relevant costs, application form and templates (for information only; use the forms in the Submission System), the application form specific to the call (available in the Submission System), a detailed budget table/relevant cost calculator (‘financial information file’), GHG emission avoidance calculators (including example calculations) for renewable electricity and heating, energy storage, energy intensive industries (EII), and mobility. Applicants must choose the calculator that corresponds to their project, based on the Methodology for calculation of relevant costs, and only one calculator can be submitted. Additional documents include a feasibility study, business plan, participant information, timetable/Gantt chart, extended Part C form (for statistical data collection, available in the Submission System), and a knowledge sharing report template (for information only at the submission stage). The Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include the INNOVFUND Lump Sum MGA.

The legal framework and additional documents include: the legal basis for the call for proposals (Decision C(2025)7674 and Annex), the decision on lump sums for the Innovation Fund, the INNOVFUND Legal Framework, INNOVFUND Regulation 2019/856, ETS Directive 2003/87, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, the EU Grants AGA (Annotated Model Grant Agreement), the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, the Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

To access the Electronic Submission Service, applicants should click the submission button next to the relevant type of action and model grant agreement. To access existing draft proposals, applicants can log in to the Funding & Tenders Portal and select the My Proposals page in the My Area section.

For help, applicants can contact the InnovFund helpdesk for call-specific questions or the IT Helpdesk for technical issues. The Online Manual provides a step-by-step guide through the Portal processes.

In summary, this Innovation Fund call focuses on supporting projects that contribute to Net Zero Technologies through lump sum grants. It covers a range of topics including general projects, clean technology manufacturing, and pilot projects. The call provides substantial funding, has a clearly defined application process, and offers support resources for applicants. The application requires detailed documentation, including a feasibility study, business plan, and GHG emission avoidance calculations. The legal framework is based on several EU regulations and directives related to the Innovation Fund and emissions trading.

Eligible Applicant Types: The provided text does not explicitly list eligible applicant types. It is necessary to consult section 6 of the call document to determine the eligible applicant types.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an INNOVFUND Lump Sum Grant.

Consortium Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly state whether a single applicant or a consortium is required. It is necessary to consult the call document to determine this requirement.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The provided text does not explicitly define the geographic eligibility. It is necessary to consult section 6 of the call document to determine the eligible countries.

Target Sector: The program targets the following sectors: Net Zero Technologies and Clean-tech manufacturing. The call INNOVFUND-2025-NZT includes also GENERAL-MSP, GENERAL-LSP, GENERAL-SSP and PILOTS.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned in the provided text.

Project Stage: The call includes projects at the pilot stage, as indicated by the topic INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-PILOTS. The call also includes projects in the general category, which may include various stages of development.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the call is EUR 2,900,000,000. The budget is for multiple topics: GENERAL-MSP, GENERAL-LSP, CLEAN-TECH-MANUFACTURING, GENERAL-SSP and PILOTS.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process consists of a single stage.

Success Rates: The provided text does not include information on success rates.

Co-funding Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly mention whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the Innovation Fund 2025 Net Zero Technologies (INNOVFUND-2025-NZT), offering INNOVFUND Lump Sum Grants. The call is open for submission with a deadline of April 23, 2026. The total budget for the call is EUR 2.9 billion. The call aims to support projects related to Net Zero Technologies and Clean-tech manufacturing, including pilot projects. The application process is a single-stage submission. Applicants must submit their proposals electronically through the Funding & Tenders Portal. The call document and annexes provide detailed information on admissibility conditions, eligible countries, evaluation criteria, and the legal and financial setup of the grants. Applicants should carefully review these documents before preparing their applications. The call includes several topics: INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-MSP, INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-LSP, INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-CLEAN-TECH-MANUFACTURING, INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-GENERAL-SSP, and INNOVFUND-2025-NZT-PILOTS. The legal basis for this call is Decision C(2025)7674 and Annex. Several calculators are provided to calculate GHG emission avoidance for renewable electricity and heating, energy storage, energy intensive industries (EII) and mobility.