The results of the latest Innovation Fund call (IF24) were published in November, and we want to warmly congratulate our clients we supported and who have been invited to start grant agreement preparations with the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Due to high competition and less funding awarded this year, many excellent proposals did not secure funding this time. This is the perfect time to take the steps for the next Innovation Fund call (IF25 - submission deadline in 2026), be it a resubmission or a brand new project proposal. We can support with both. It is also possible to apply for financial support for the project design costs via national agencies at least in Norway, Denmark and Finland.
In all, the investment to boost net-zero technology projects is €2.9 billion in this highly competitive call IF24, which attracted 359 applications! In total, 61 projects were awarded and their focus is on energy-intensive industries, renewable energy and energy storage, net-zero mobility and buildings, cleantech manufacturing and industrial carbon management.
Compared to last year, considerably fewer projects were awarded funding. This means that many excellent projects with strong technical maturity but minor scoring gaps in GHG methodology, degree of innovation, replicability or cost efficiency, will resubmit their funding proposal for next Innovation Fund call 2026.
If your strong project missed this funding round, we warmly recommend to resubmit for IF25. Should you need support for your project proposal from experienced Innovation Fund experts like Spinverse, the national agencies e.g. in Norway, Denmark and possibly Finland can award support for the costs to strengthen the quality of the proposal and increase your chances of success. The support can be used to create the necessary professional content in the project proposal to the EU Innovation Fund. Approved costs will typically be own hours, as well as the purchase of engineering or other consultancy services for developing the application documents.
For example, the Norwegian funding agency Enova can award up to NOK 500,000 in support (PES IF prosjektetableringsstøtte) when the project application has a Norwegian applicant. The support amount is limited to up to 50% of reported costs. In Denmark, the national agency offering similar support is Energistyrelsen, which can award a maximum of DKK 500 000 for projects and applications in Denmark. In Finland, Business Finland has provided support of up to 50% of proposal preparation costs, however maximum EUR 200 000. At the time of writing this article, the Business Finland support has been temporarily discontinued, but there is a possibility it will be opened again. See links below for more information.
Learn more about the support on the Enova (Norway) and Energistyrelsen (Denmark) and Business Finland web pages.
Our team is available to discuss how you can succeed next year! Get in touch with Janne Kaukojärvi for more details!
janne.kaukojarvi@spinverse.com
+358 50 528 6197