Tuesday 5 April 2022

EU announces €1.1bn to support climate transition

The European Commission has signed agreements for €1.1 billion (£0.9bn) of grants for seven large-scale projects that support the EU's climate transition.

The projects, which are deploying innovative low carbon technologies at industrial scale, covering key sectors such as hydrogen, steel, chemicals, cement, solar energy, biofuels and carbon capture and storage (CCS), are receiving the grants via the EU Innovation Fund, funded by revenues from the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS),

The projects aim to reduce emissions by more than 76Mt of CO2 equivalent during the first 10 years of operation.

The Innovation Fund is currently sourced from 450 million allowances from the existing ETS in 2021/30.

Under the Commission's Fit for 55 proposals, it would be topped up with 50 million allowances from the revised ETS and 150 million allowances from the new system covering emissions from road transport and buildings.

Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal said: “With the Innovation Fund, the European Commission is granting €1.1 billion to empower innovative, forward-thinking businesses that develop cutting-edge technologies and drive the climate transition in their respective fields.

“This is a smart investment into the decarbonisation and resilience of our economy; it boosts European industry's position as global leaders in clean tech, creates local jobs, and helps to accelerate our green transition.”