June 3, 2026

The first application figures for the 2025 Innovation Fund Net-Zero Technologies Call are out

2025 Innovation Fund Net-Zero Technologies Call attracted strong interest from European industry with over 350 applications

The European Commission has published the first application figures for the Innovation Fund 2025 Net-Zero Technologies (IF25 NZT) Call, which closed on 23 April 2026. The call, launched on 4 December 2025, attracted 358 project applications from 27 EEA countries, requesting a total of €17.5 billion in support, around six times the available budget of €2.9 billion. Collectively, they could avoid emitting an equivalent of 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere over their first 10 years of operation.

This remarkable interest signals once more European industry’s commitment to the EU’s journey toward climate neutrality while boosting competitiveness.

What caught our attention is not only the overall number, broadly stable compared to last year, but also the shift across call topics:

  • Large-scale projects: 104 applications, down from around 140 in IF24
  • Medium-scale projects: 74 applications, up from around 54
  • Pilot projects: 79 applications, up from around 68

Applications were submitted across all five call topics:

  • 70 proposals: Renewable Energy
  • 158 proposals:  Energy-intensive Industries,
  • 8 proposals: Industrial Carbon Management
  • 52 proposals: Energy Storage received
  • 50 proposals: Mobility, including Maritime, Aviation and Road Transport, together with the Buildings.

The evaluation process is now underway, with results expected by October 2026. We will continue to monitor it, particularly for those projects led and supported by DIAMONDS4IF and PNO.

Read the whole article here: 2025 Innovation Fund Net-Zero Technologies Call attracted strong interest from European industry with over 350 applications – Climate Action