Innovation Fund

Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2023/959 — Innovation Fund

345 million allowances from the quantity which could otherwise be allocated for free pursuant to this Article, and 80 million allowances from the quantity which could otherwise be auctioned pursuant to Article 10, as well as the allowances resulting from the reduction of free allocation referred to in paragraph 1a of this Article, shall be made available to a fund (the ‘Innovation Fund’) with the objective of supporting innovation in low- and zero-carbon techniques, processes and technologies that contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of the sectors covered by this Directive and contribute to zero pollution and circularity objectives, including projects aimed at scaling up such techniques, processes and technologies with a view to their broad roll-out across the Union. Such projects shall possess significant greenhouse gas emissions abatement potential and contribute to energy and resource savings in line with the Union’s climate and energy targets for 2030.

Article 10a(8) of Directive 2003/87/EC, as amended by Directive (EU) 2023/959 — eligible sectors

The Innovation Fund shall cover the sectors listed in Annexes I and III, as well as products and processes substituting carbon intensive ones produced or used in sectors listed in Annex I, including innovative renewable energy and energy storage technologies and environmentally safe carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) that contributes substantially to mitigating climate change, in particular for unavoidable process emissions, and shall help stimulate the construction and operation of projects aimed at the environmentally safe capture, transport and geological storage (CCS) of CO2, in particular for unavoidable industrial process emissions, and the direct capture of CO2 from the atmosphere with safe, sustainable and permanent storage (DACS), in geographically balanced locations.