In the latest Innovation Fund round, financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) awarded grants to 61 Net Zero projects across 19 sectors and 18 countries.
Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero, and Clean Growth, said the funding will turn European climate ambitions into an industrial reality.
Project developers will move into the grant agreement preparation phase with CINEA in the first half of 2026.
Hydrogen transport and mobility
Four transport-focused hydrogen projects in Norway, Finland, and the Czech Republic have been awarded EU Innovation Fund support, ranging from maritime and aviation to public mobility applications.
RjukanLH2 will feature a new liquefaction plant, cryogenic storage, and liquid hydrogen bunkering facilities to fuel four hydrogen-powered shortsea container vessels.
The project, which has received an offer for a €31.5m ($36.2m) EU Innovation Fund grant, is expected to deliver more than 3,500 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.
“At Rjukan, we are building Norway’s – and indeed the Nordic region’s – first production plant for zero-emission liquid hydrogen, with a particular focus on the emerging demand from the maritime sector,” explained Jens Berge, Norwegian Hydrogen CEO.
Project ODIN, which H2 View understands is led by ZeroAvia, will retrofit 15 Cessna 208B Grand Caravans with hydrogen-electric PEM fuel cell powertrains, replacing kerosene turboprops.
Furthermore, it aims to deploy refuelling and storage infrastructure in over 15 Norwegian airports.
Also, the MAGHYC project in Finland will demonstrate onboard hydrogen generation with carbon capture on a new-build cruise ship.
Using thermal catalytic decomposition of bioLNG, the vessel will produce low-carbon hydrogen while capturing solid carbon as a by-product.
And finally, in the Czech Republic, H2CWAY will see Iveco Bus manufacture two types of hydrogen fuel cell-powered intercity buses for public transport operations.
Hydrogen-derived fuels
Multiple hydrogen-based e-fuel projects will integrate green hydrogen with captured biogenic CO2 to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) or methanol.
France’s TAKE KAIR, ReSTart, and DEZiR projects are expected to establish large-scale eSAF production plants, designed to supply key European hubs such as Paris-CDG airport and Amsterdam-Schiphol.
Specifically, Verso Energy’s DEZiR initiative is scheduled to produce up to 81,000 tonnes of eSAF per year in Normandy. By replacing fossil-based kerosene, this could avoid the emissions of over five million tonnes of CO2 over the project’s 25-year lifespan.
Antonie Huard, CEO and co-founder of Verso Energy, said, “France has unparalleled assets to become a global leader in the production of synthetic fuels, meeting not only domestic demand but also that of many other markets.”
Additionally, Denmark’s ENDOR project, led by Arcadia eFuels, will build a commercial power-to-liquid facility to produce eSAF and e-naphtha using renewable electricity, biogenic CO2, and hydrogen.
Arcadia completed the front-end engineering and design (FEED) phase last year for the plant, which will use Plug Power electrolysers.
Two hydrogen-based methanol projects are also planned to establish commercial-scale production.
RECLAIM in Denmark and PP2XH in Estonia are both targeting the maritime and heavy transport sectors. PP2XH will also supply hydrogen for land transport applications via an AI-powered microgrid.
Spain’s LUXIA project completes the line-up of hydrogen-derived initiatives. The €358m ($383m) development will establish large-scale production of renewable methanol and ammonia.
Heating and technology
Italy’s H2EAT will industrialise a 25kW wall-mounted hydrogen boiler using flameless catalytic combustion. The system reportedly delivers over 100% thermal efficiency with no CO2 or NOx emissions.
“The H2EAT project will create a scalable domestic hydrogen-boiler market,” according to CINEA.
In Germany H2Pearl will create an automated production line for PEM electrolyser stacks. It’s expected to “aid the EU in retaining its strategic leadership in PEM technology,” the bloc said.
The European Commission plans to launch the next Innovation Fund calls in December 2025.