Of the 311 Innovation Fund applications submitted in Europe, the European Commission selected the best 70 projects to apply for the second phase. 13 of these successful projects were supported by EGEN and PNO Consultants – both subsidiaries of the PNO Group – giving us a success rate of no less than 65% for our clients. That is almost three times higher than market average!

Large-scale and small-scale projects

The figures mentioned relate to the outcome of the first round for ‘large-scale’ projects of the Innovation Fund. The submitted applications concern investment projects with a minimum size of EUR 7.5 million and must lead to a reduction in CO₂ emissions of 1.2 billion tonnes. Innovation Fund applications are for highly innovative technologies and large flagship projects with a European impact and the potential to deliver significant emission reductions.

 Recently, the Innovation Fund has also been open to smaller projects, with an investment size of between EUR 2.5 and 7.5 million. For that call 232 applications were submitted, and the budget was oversubscribed ten times! The results of that call will be announced in the course of this year. 

Themes

The 311 large-scale applications that were submitted related to the following themes:

• Renewable energy sources (58)
• Energy-intensive industries, including hydrogen (204)
• Storage (35)
• Capture, Consumption and Storage of CO₂ (14).

From these 311 applications, the best 70 projects were finally invited to submit a second phase application. In this second phase, these projects will be extensively evaluated on effectiveness, degree of innovation, duration, scalability and cost efficiency.

Proud of results

EGEN and PNO Consultants have participated in successful Innovation Fund applications throughout Europe. That we are responsible for such a large proportion of all successful applications, and moreover with a success rate of 65% – almost three times the market average – makes us particularly proud. It is a wonderful way to use our expertise for a better climate. We would also like to help you with your energy or climate innovation. Two more calls – one for large-scale and one for small-scale projects – will be launched before the end of 2021. If you are involved in an interesting project, we would like to get in touch with you. Feel free to contact one of our energy and climate experts at + 31 (0)88 838 1381 or send us a message.