The EU Green Deal: one billion euro investment plan to make EU the world’s first climate-neutral continent
On January 14, the European Commission unveiled its one billion euro public and private investment plan to finance the European Green Deal. The overall goal of the plan is to create an enabling framework for private investors and the public sector to facilitate sustainable investments and to provide support to public administrations and project promoters in identifying, structuring and executing sustainable projects. The Horizon 2020-funded European Green Deal Call is now open for registration and will spur Europe’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis by turning green challenges into innovation opportunities.
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth:
“The €1 billion European Green Deal call is the last and biggest call under Horizon 2020. With innovation at its heart, this investment will accelerate a just and sustainable transition to a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. As we do not want anyone left behind in this systemic transformation, we call for specific actions to engage with citizens in novel ways and improve societal relevance and impact.”
The call is composed of six (6) funding programs:
- European Research Infrastructures capacities and services to address European Green Deal challengenges
Proposals should address one of the following subtopics:
(a) Support Europe leadership in clean energy storage technologies
Funding available: up to € 7 million
(b) Enhancing European research infrastructures for greenhouse gases observation in and around cities
Funding available: up to €13 million
(c) Enhancing observations for air quality and citizens’ health in urban areas
Funding available: up to € 8 million
2. Closing the industrial carbon cycle to combat climate change – Industrial feasibility of catalytic routes for sustainable alternatives to fossil resources
Funding available: up to €40 million, and projects should last up to 5 years.
3. Develop and demonstrate a 100 MW electrolyser upscaling the link between renewables and commercial/industrial applications
Funding available: up to €25 – 30 million, and projects shall have a duration a duration of 5 years, with at least 2 years of operation.
4. Innovative land-based and offshore renewable energy technologies and their integration into the energy system
Proposals should address one of the following two subtopics:
(a) Development of land-based renewable energy technologies and their integration into the energy system
Funding available: between € 3 – 6 million
(b) Demonstration of innovative technologies to enable future large scale deployment of offshore renewable energy.
Funding available: between € 20 – 35 million
5. Demonstration of systemic solutions for the territorial deployment of the circular economy
Funding available: between € 10 – 20 million
6. Testing and demonstrating systemic innovations in support of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy
Proposals should address one of the following subtopics:
(a) Achieving climate neutral farms by reducing GHG emissions and by increasing farm-based carbon sequestration and storage (IA)
(b) Achieving climate neutral food businesses by mitigating climate change, reducing energy use and increasing energy efficiency in processing, distribution, conservation and preparation of food (IA)
(c) Reducing the dependence on hazardous pesticides; reducing the losses of nutrients from fertilisers, towards zero pollution of water, soil and air and ultimately fertiliser use (IA)
(d) Reducing the dependence on the use of antimicrobials in animal production and in aquaculture (IA)
(e) Reducing food losses and waste at every stage of the food chain including consumption, while also avoiding unsustainable packaging (IA)
(f) Shifting to sustainable healthy diets, sourced from land, inland water and sea, and accessible to all EU citizens, including the most deprived and vulnerable groups (IA)
Funding available: between €25 – 30 million
What projects will be financed? The projects that will be financed under the new Investment Plan are the ones that will contribute to reaching the goals of the European Green Deal; to the emergence of new, clean energy and circular economy industries; and to the creation of high-quality jobs for a competitive European economy.
What will the selection criteria be? The Commission will first assist those Member States and regions that are likely to be most affected by the transition. The most affected regions are the ones where jobs depend on fossil fuels, including coal, lignite and peat, as well as oil, shale or carbon-intensive industrial processes.
The deadline for submissions is 26 January 2021, with selected projects expected to start in autumn 2021.
For more information follow the link to European Commission’s site.
