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  1. An institution, body, office or agency established by or based on the Treaty on European Union and the Treaties establishing the European Communities.

    All education and training facilities for people of different age groups.

    An intergovernmental organization having legal personality under public international law or a specialized agency established by such an international organization. An international organization, the majority of whose members are Member States or Associated Countries and whose main objective is to promote scientific and technological cooperation in Europe, is an International Organization of European Interest.

    A person with legal rights and obligations. Unlike a legal entity, a natural person does not have a legal act (e.g. association, limited liability company, etc.).

    An NPO is an institution or organization which, by virtue of its legal form, is not profit-oriented or which is required by law not to distribute profits to its shareholders or individual members. An NGO is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that does not represent business interests. Pursues a common purpose for the benefit of society.

    A partnership, corporation, person, or agency that is for-profit and not operated by the government.

    Any government or other public administration, including public advisory bodies, at the national, regional or local level.

    A research institution is a legal entity established as a non-profit organization whose main objective is to conduct research or technological development. A college/university is a legal entity recognized by its national education system as a university or college or secondary school. It may be a public or private institution.

    A microenterprise, a small or medium-sized enterprise (business) as defined in EU Recommendation 2003/361. To qualify as an SME for EU funding, an enterprise must meet certain conditions, including (a) fewer than 250 employees and (b) an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million. These ceilings apply only to the figures for individual companies.

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  1. Administration & Governance, Institutional Capacity & Cooperation 

    This topic focuses on strengthening governance, fostering institutional capacity, and enhancing cross-border cooperation. It includes promoting multilevel, transnational, and cross-border governance by designing and testing effective structures and mechanisms, as well as encouraging collaboration between public institutions on various themes. 

    Innovation capacity and awareness are also key, with actions aimed at increasing the ability of individuals and organizations to adopt and apply innovative practices. This involves empowering innovation networks and stimulating innovation across different sectors. 

    Institutional cooperation and network-building play a crucial role, supporting long-term partnerships to improve administrative processes, share regional knowledge, and promote intercultural understanding. This also includes cooperation between universities, healthcare facilities, schools, sports organizations, and efforts in management and capacity building. 

    This topic focuses on strengthening the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors while ensuring sustainable development and environmental protection. It covers agricultural products (e.g., fruits, meat, olives), organic farming, horticulture, and innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture. It also addresses forest management, wood products, and the promotion of biodiversity and climate resilience in forestry practices.

    In the food sector, the focus lies on developing sustainable and resilient food chains, promoting organic food production, enhancing seafood products, and ensuring food security and safety. Projects also target the development of the agro-food industry, including innovative methods for production, processing, and distribution.

    Fisheries and animal management are essential aspects, with an emphasis on sustainable fishery practices, aquaculture, and animal health and welfare. This also includes efforts to promote responsible fishing, marine conservation, and the development of efficient resource management systems.

    Soil and air quality initiatives play a crucial role in environmental protection and public health. This includes projects aimed at combating soil and air pollution, implementing pollution management systems, and preventing soil erosion. Additionally, innovative approaches to improving air quality—both outdoors and indoors—are supported, alongside advancing knowledge and best practices in soil and air management.

    This topic focuses on protecting the environment, promoting biodiversity, and addressing the challenges of climate change and resource management. It includes efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, develop low-carbon technologies, and reduce GHG emissions. Biodiversity promotion and natural protection are key aspects. 

    It also covers improving soil and air quality by reducing pollution, managing contamination, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing air quality both outdoors and indoors. Water management plays an essential role, including sustainable water distribution, monitoring systems, innovative wastewater treatment technologies, and water reuse policies. Additionally, it addresses the protection and development of waterways, lakes, and rivers, as well as sustainable wetland management. 

    This topic focuses on preserving, promoting, and enhancing cultural and natural heritage in a sustainable way. It includes efforts to increase the attractiveness of cultural and natural sites through preservation, valorisation, and the development of heritage objects, services, and products. Cultural heritage management, arts, and culture play a key role, including maritime heritage routes, access to cultural sites, and cultural services like festivals, concerts, and art workshops. 

    Tourism development is also central, with actions aimed at promoting natural assets, protecting and developing natural heritage, and increasing touristic appeal through the better use of cultural, natural, and historical heritage. It also covers the improvement of tourist services and products, the creation of ecotourism models, and the development of sustainable tourism strategies. 

    This topic focuses on the sustainable management, protection, and valorisation of natural resources and areas, such as habitats, geo parks, and protected zones. It also includes preserving and enhancing cultural and natural heritage, landscapes, and protecting marine environments. 

    Circular economy initiatives play a key role, with actions aimed at innovative waste management, ecological treatment techniques, and advanced recycling systems. Projects may focus on improving recycling technologies, organic waste recovery, and establishing repair and re-use networks. Additionally, pollution prevention and control efforts address ecological economy practices, marine litter reduction, and sustainable resource use. 

    This topic covers labour market development and employment, focusing on creating job opportunities, optimizing existing jobs, and addressing academic (un)employment and job mobility. It also includes attracting a skilled workforce and improving working conditions for various groups. 

    Strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and boosting entrepreneurship are key priorities. This includes enhancing SME capacities, supporting social entrepreneurship, and promoting innovative business models. Activities may focus on creating advisory systems for start-ups, spin-offs, and incubators, fostering business networks, and improving the competitiveness of SMEs through knowledge and technology transfer, digital transformation, and sustainable business practices. 

    This topic focuses on fostering community integration and strengthening a common identity by promoting social cohesion, positive relations, and the development of shared spaces and services. It supports initiatives that enhance intercultural understanding and cooperation between different societal groups. 

    Demographic change and migration address key societal challenges, such as an aging population, active aging, and silver economy strategies. It also includes adapting public services and infrastructure to demographic shifts, tackling social and spatial segregation, and addressing brain drain. Migration-related actions cover policy development, strategic planning, and the integration of migrants to create inclusive and resilient communities. 

    All projects where ICT has a significant role, including tailor-made ICT solutions in different fields, as well as digital innovation hubs, open data, Internet of Things; ICT access and connecting (remote) areas with digital infrastructure and services; services and applications for citizens (e-health, e-government, e-learning, e-inclusion, etc.); services and applications for companies (e-commerce, networking, digital transformation, etc.).

    This is about the mitigation and management of risks and disasters, and the anticipation and response capacity towards the actors regarding specific risks and management of natural disasters, for example, prevention of flood and drought hazards, forest fire, strong weather conditions, etc.. It is also about risk assessment and safety.

    This topic focuses on enhancing education, training, and opportunities for children, youth, and adults. It covers the expansion of educational access, reduction of barriers to education, and improvement of higher education and lifelong learning. It also includes vocational education, common learning programs, and initiatives supporting labour mobility and educational networks. Additionally, it addresses the promotion of media literacy, digital learning tools, and the development of innovative educational approaches to strengthen knowledge, skills, and societal participation. 

    This topic emphasizes the role of culture and media in education and social development. It supports initiatives that foster creativity, cultural awareness, and artistic expression among children and youth. Activities include promoting cross-border cooperation in the audiovisual sector, enhancing digital content creation skills, and boosting the distribution of educational and cultural media products. Furthermore, it encourages the development of media literacy initiatives, helping young audiences critically engage with digital and media content. By connecting education, creativity, and media, this topic strengthens cultural identity and supports inclusive, knowledge-based societies. 

    This topic covers actions aimed at improving energy efficiency and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. It includes energy management, energy-saving methods, and evaluating energy efficiency measures. Projects may focus on the energy rehabilitation and efficiency of buildings and public infrastructure, as well as promoting energy efficiency through cooperation among experienced firms, institutions, and local administrations. 

    In the field of renewable energy, this encompasses the development and expansion of wind, solar, biomass, hydroelectric, geothermal, and other sustainable energy sources. Activities include increasing renewable energy production, enhancing research capacities, and developing innovative technologies for energy storage and management. Projects may also address sustainable regional bioenergy policies, financial instruments for renewable energy investments, and the establishment of cooperative frameworks for advancing renewable energy initiatives. 

    This topic focuses on promoting equal rights and strengthening social inclusion, particularly for marginalized and vulnerable groups. It covers activities enhancing the capacity and participation of children, young people, women, elderly people, and socially excluded groups. Activities can address the creation of inclusive infrastructure, improving access and opportunities for people with disabilities, and fostering social cohesion through innovative care services. It also includes initiatives supporting victims of gender-based violence, promoting human rights, and developing policies and tools for social integration and equal participation in society. 

    This area focuses on improving health and social services, enhancing accessibility and efficiency for diverse groups such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. It includes the development of new healthcare models, innovative medical diagnostics and treatments (e.g., dementia, cancer, diabetes), and the management of hospitals and care facilities. Additionally, activities addressing rare diseases, promoting overall wellbeing, and fostering preventive health measures fall under this theme. It also covers sports promotion, encouraging physical activity as a means to improve public health and social inclusion. 

    This area focuses on strengthening justice, safety, and security through cross-border cooperation and institutional capacity-building. It includes initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of police, fire, and rescue services, enhancing civil protection systems, and rapid response capabilities for emergencies like chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear incidents. Activities also target the prevention and combatting of organized crime, drug-related crimes, and human trafficking, as well as ensuring secure and efficient border management. Furthermore, it covers initiatives promoting the protection of citizens, community safety, and the development of innovative security services and technologies. 

    This area focuses on the development and improvement of transport and mobility systems, covering all modes of transport, including urban mobility and public transportation. Actions aiming at improving transport connections through traffic and transport planning, rehabilitation and modernisation of infrastructure, better connectivity, and enhanced accessibility. Projects promoting multimodal transport and logistics, optimising intermodal transport chains, offering sustainable and efficient logistics solutions, and developing multimodal mobility strategies. Also, initiatives establishing cooperation among logistic centres and providing access to clean, efficient, and multimodal transport corridors and hubs. 

    Activities focusing on the sustainable development and strategic planning of urban, regional, and rural areas. This includes urban development such as city planning, urban renewal, and strengthening urban-rural links through climate adaptation, sustainable mobility, water efficiency, participatory processes, smart cities, and the regeneration of public urban spaces. Regional planning and development cover the implementation of regional policies and programmes, sustainable land use management plans, integrated regional action plans, spatial planning, and the efficient management of marine protected areas. Rural and peripheral development addresses the challenges of remote and sparsely populated areas by fostering rural community development, enhancing rural economies, improving access to remote regions, and promoting tailored policies for rural sustainability and growth. 

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Call key data

Innovation Fund 2023 Net Zero Technologies – Pilots

Funding Program

Innovation Fund

Call number

INNOVFUND-2023-NZT-PILOTS

deadlines

Opening
23.11.2023

Deadline
09.04.2024 17:00

Funding rate

60%

Call budget

€ 200,000,000.00

Estimated EU contribution per project

min. € 2,500,000.00

Link to the call

Link to the submission

Call content

short description

The objective of this topic is to support highly innovative, disruptive or breakthrough technologies in deep decarbonisation needed for achieving the climate neutrality goal.

Call objectives

The following activities can be funded under this topic:

Construction and operation of pilot projects that focus on validating, testing and optimising highly innovative, deep decarbonisation solutions in all sectors eligible for Innovation Fund support.

Pilot projects can thus concern: sectors listed in Annex I and Annex III to the EU ETS Directive 2003/87, including environmentally safe carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) that contributes substantially to mitigating climate change, as well as products substituting carbon-intensive ones produced in sectors listed in Annex I to the EU ETS Directive or construction and operation of innovative energy storage or construction and operation of CO2 storage solutions or construction and operation renewable energy installations (in photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, onshore and offshore wind power, ocean energy, geothermal, solar thermal, and others), including innovative systems aspects such as connection to the electricity/heat grid.

In this topic, a higher degree of innovation is expected than in the other topics. Consequently, the activities that can be funded are those that tackle technical risks linked to the innovative technologies and solutions, e.g. optimising process and operational parameters of the innovation, and/or improving the characteristics of the final products produced. Pilot projects should prove an innovative, deep decarbonisation or net carbon removal technology or solution in an operational environment, but are not expected yet to reach large scale demonstration or commercial production. Nevertheless, the project can entail limited production/operation for testing purposes, including delivery to/from potential customers for validation. Typically, these projects would have a limited life-time (3 to 5 years). If the project is successful, the proposed technology should move to the next stage of large-scale demonstration or first-of-a-kind commercial production.

Deep decarbonisation technology means technology that has the potential to be fully compatible with a 2050 climate neutrality objective. The pilot installation itself should have a very low level of residual emissions or result in net carbon removals. See more details in the minimum requirements under the GHG emission avoidance criterion.

Projects in this topic should contribute to building industrial capacity, technology leadership, supply chain resilience and strategic autonomy within the EU.

Under this topic, projects demonstrating the ability to reach financial close within two years and entry into operation within four years after grant agreement signature may receive a higher score under the project maturity criterion.

The maximum amount of Innovation Fund grant for an individual project under this topic is limited to EUR 40 million.

Only projects, which at the time of grant application have not reached start of works, can be funded.

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Eligibility Criteria

Regions / countries for funding

EU Member States, Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT)

eligible entities

Education and training institution, International organization, Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) / Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Other, Private institution, incl. private company (private for profit), Public Body (national, regional and local; incl. EGTCs), Research Institution incl. University, Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)

Mandatory partnership

No

Project Partnership

In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:

  • be legal entities (public or private bodies)

  • be established in one of the eligible countries: any country in the world.


Financial support to third parties is not allowed.


Projects must be located in EU Member States or EEA countries (i.e. Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein). Projects may also be located in Northern Ireland on the condition that they concern the generation, transmission, distribution or supply of electricity.

other eligibility criteria

Natural persons are NOT eligible (with the exception of self- employed persons, i.e. sole traders, where the company does not have legal personality separate from that of the natural person).

International organisations are eligible. The rules on eligible countries do not apply to them.

Entities which do not have legal personality under their national law may exceptionally participate, provided that their representatives have the capacity to undertake legal obligations on their behalf, and offer guarantees
for the protection of the EU financial interests equivalent to that offered by legal persons.

EU bodies (with the exception of the European Commission Joint Research Centre) can NOT be part of the consortium.

Entities composed of members may participate as ‘sole beneficiaries’ or ‘beneficiaries without legal personality’. Please note that if the action will be implemented by the members, they should also participate (either as beneficiaries or as affiliated entities, otherwise they cannot claim part of the grant).


The project must:

  • reach financial close within four years after grant signature (maximum time to financial close):
  • operate at least (minimum GHG emission avoidance monitoring period) 3 years after entry into operation

Project duration may range between 3 and 15 years, from grant signature to the final payment. Projects of longer duration may be accepted in duly justified cases. Extensions are possible, if duly justified and through an amendment.

Additional information

Topics

Air Quality, Biodiversity & Environment, Climate & Climate Change, Water quality & management, 
Circular Economy, Natural Resources, 
Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy

Relevance for EU Macro-Region

EUSAIR - EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region, EUSALP - EU Strategy for the Alpine Space, EUSBSR - EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, EUSDR - EU Strategy for the Danube Region

UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs)

project duration

between 3 and 15 years

Additional Information

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System (accessible via the Topic page in the Search Funding & Tenders section). Paper submissions are NOT possible.

Proposals must be complete and contain all the requested information and all required annexes and supporting documents:

  • Application Form Part A — contains administrative information about the participants (future coordinator, beneficiaries and affiliated entities) and the summarised budget for the project (to be filled in directly online)
  • Application Form Part B — contains the technical description of the project (to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed and then assembled and re-uploaded)
  • Part C (to be filled in directly online) containing additional project data
  • mandatory annexes and supporting documents (templates available to be downloaded from the Portal Submission System, completed, assembled and re-uploaded):
    • detailed budget table/relevant cost calculator (‘financial information file’)
    • participant information (including CVs and previous projects, if any)
    • timetable/Gantt chart
    • GHG emission avoidance calculator
    • feasibility study — including at least: project description (background information, objectives, resource and feedstock availability and yield potential, expected project outputs, innovation); location analysis and strategic overlook (site, site plans, stakeholders involvement and acceptance); technical maturity assessment (technology readiness, technology process, suppliers of technology, feasibility of achieving project outputs); GHG avoidance and key consumptions figures; environmental and socio-economic impacts and mitigation measures; techno-economic feasibility; risks and mitigation measures (including heat map)
    • business plan — including at least: executive summary; business proposition (product market, competitive environment, regulatory environment, business model and operating lifetime); main project counterparties (description of who they are and overview of key financials); diagram showing the relationship between the different project parties and the project including entities involved in the project, sponsors, shareholders, lenders, off-takers, suppliers, constructions contractors and other contractors, advisors, and insurers; products and services including assumptions on price, volumes, inflation used to derive project revenues; market analysis (market potential, trends, competitors’ overview, market uptake strategy...); SWOT or Porter 5 Forces analysis; financing plan: table with uses and sources (debt, equity, other), details of financing sources with key terms, projected financial close and main steps to achieve it; allocation of financing including InnovFund grant across the project milestones; budget CAPEX, OPEX underlying assumptions; economical and other assumptions; risks and mitigation (heat map) including sensitivity analysis; cash flow statements, profit and loss account and balance sheet for the last three years (consolidated or social accounts) of project shareholders and the entity carrying the project if it has existed for more than three years
    • detailed financial model — applicant’s financial model sheet with detailed information on model assumptions and calculations to derive the financial projections (formulas, no hard coded figures, nor macros).
    • for all topics except INNOVFUND-2023-NZT-GENERAL-SSP: knowledge sharing plan — including at least: communication activities; dissemination activities; plan to develop activities that go beyond mandatory knowledge sharing requirements
    • support to project — documents indicating credible commitment for the project, including e.g. heads of terms, letters of interest or support, letters of approval from project funders, shareholders, board of directors or executive committee, suppliers, off-takers, construction/O&M companies, (if any)
    • terms of supply — main terms of supply, construction and off-take agreements and other key commercial contracts for construction, operation phase, financing and its state of development (if any)
    • due diligence reports (if any)
    • permits, licences, authorisations (if any)
    • other annexes

Your application must be readable, accessible and printable.

Proposals are limited to maximum 80 pages (part B). Feasibility study, business plan and knowledge sharing plan must not exceed 60 pages each.

Contact

Innovation Fund NCP
Website

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