Innovation Fund 2025: New call and auctions now open

The European Commission opens the next Innovation Fund (IF25) grant call and auctions this 3 December 2025, with a total budget of €5 billion to accelerate Europe’s transition to a net-zero economy. This new call offers major opportunities for companies developing breakthrough technologies that significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Launched in 2020, the EU Innovation Fund is one of the world’s largest funding programmes for the deployment of innovative low-carbon technologies. With an estimated total budget of €40 billion, financed through the EU Emissions Trading System, it supports highly innovative projects in sectors such as Energy-intensive industries (steel, cement, aluminium, pulp and paper), renewable energy, energy storage, carbon (capture, utilisation and storage), clean mobility and net-zero emission buildings.

Projects must involve a minimum CAPEX of €2.5 million and demonstrate a strong potential for GHG emissions reduction. Project location must be in EU or EEA countries. Funding is generated through the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and cumulation with national funding is possible.

What’s in the 2025 Call?

The IF25 programme includes both grants and competitive auctions:

• Net-zero technologies grant call – €2.9 billion across five topics
• RNFBO (renewable fuel of non-biological origin) or electrolytic low carbon hydrogen (competitive bidding) – €1.1 billion across three topics
• Decarbonation of the industrial process heat auction (competitive bidding) – €1 billion across three topics

For grant calls, proposals will be evaluated based on: degree of innovation, GHG emissions avoidance, maturity (technical, financial and operational), replicability and cost efficiency. 

For auctions, eligible bids will be ranked by price.

All call documents are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Upcoming Information Events

The European Commission will organise three online information days:

• 10 December: IF25 Hydrogen Auction info day
• 10 December: IF25 Heat Auction info day
• 16 December: IF25 Net-zero Technologies call info day

For its part, Luxinnovation will hold a National Infoday on 29 January 2026, providing guidance on the call, the award criteria and best practices for preparing a strong application.

Back-to-back with the National Infoday, applicants may also request Orientation Dialogues—bilateral meetings with the European Commission and the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) to discuss project ideas.

Luxinnovation, your National contact point

As Luxembourg National contact point for the Innovation Fund, Luxinnovation provides:

• Early-stage guidance
• Continuous assistance throughout proposal development
• Answers to questions
• Proposal reviews, including the annexes

This support contributed to Luxembourg’s first winning project, ECHO-WAVE (“Energy Community for Hydrogen On-site Production from Wind and AgriVoltaics for Industry DEcarbonisation”), which secured nearly €13 million to produce renewable hydrogen in Kehlen.

ECHO-WAVE is coordinated by the Luxembourg company GPSS (Green Power Storage Solutions) and also includes the participation of two other companies: Soler and H2 Energiewiss Kielen. The project receives precisely EU funding of €13 millions, which complements the national support provided by the Ministry of the Economy through the project’s successful participation in the national pilot call for green hydrogen production.

ECHO-WAVE will provide a wind turbine and an agrivoltaics solar plant, with the electrolyser directly connected to supply the necessary renewable electricity. An expected amount of 2,900 tonnes of renewable hydrogen will be produced during the first ten years of operation. The annual production volume of renewable hydrogen corresponding to more than 60% of Luxembourg’s current hydrogen demand.

Luxinnovation supported the project from the beginning. “First, we held initial meetings with GPSS prior the call launch and advised on how to get started”, explains Sanna Alaranta, Senior Advisor - European R&D and Innovation Support at Luxinnovation. Then we supported by finding answers through out the application process and during Grant Agreement Preparation phase. Finally, prior to submission, we reviewed the draft proposal, including technical description and feasibility study. This successful participation in the highly competitive Innovation Fund represents an outstanding achievement for Luxembourg and the Greater Region”.