Today, five electric vehicle (EV) battery cell manufacturing projects selected under the Innovation Fund 2024 Battery call (IF24Battery) have successfully signed their Grant Agreements. Sourced from the EU Emissions Trading System, these projects will benefit from a total of €643 million to help deploy their ground-breaking decarbonisation solutions.
The projects are expected to enter into operation between 2027 and 2029 and should reduce emissions by some 88 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over their first ten years of operation.
Located across four EU Member States, these projects represent a major boost to Europe’s emerging battery ecosystem. Implementing innovative processes and technologies, they will support key segments of the battery value chain with advanced material production, cell manufacturing, recycling technologies and second-life applications.
Their combined impact will contribute to:
the creation of direct and indirect jobsincreased European autonomy and reduced dependence on external supplierssupport to related sectors such as EV manufacturing
By accelerating the commercialisation of next-generation EV battery innovations, the projects will play a key role in delivering on the EU’s climate and industrial objectives, while strengthening technological competitiveness and resilience.
As a key clean technology, EV batteries advance the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal by supporting the business case for products necessary in the clean transition and improving Europe’s competitiveness in this area. They are also in line with the objectives of the Net-Zero Industry Act and the Critical Raw Materials Act by reducing dependence on imported materials and building resilient, sustainable supply chains. Their second life and recycling applications align with the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy. Finally, the projects selected under this call are consistent with the Batteries Regulation, which promotes a competitive and sustainable European battery industry.
Further information on the selected projects can be found here.
Background
A Grant Agreement is the formal contract between the European Commission and the project beneficiary that defines the project’s objectives, funding amount, eligible costs, rights, and obligations under the Innovation Fund.
The Innovation Fund 2024 Battery call was launched on 3 December 2024 and closed on 24 April 2025, attracting 14 applications from across Europe. In July 2025, the European Commission announced that six projects were invited to enter the grant preparation phase. One of the six invited projects decided to withdraw from grant preparation, resulting in five successfully signing their Grant Agreements with CINEA.
With an estimated revenue of €40 billion (calculated based on a carbon price of €75 per tonne of CO2) from the EU Emissions Trading System between 2020 and 2030, the Innovation Fund seeks to drive investment in cutting-edge, low-carbon and net-zero technologies, supporting Europe’s transition to climate neutrality.
Also launched in 2024, the Innovation Fund call for proposals for net-zero technologies has recently announced the 61 projects selected for grant agreement preparation along with its second renewable hydrogen auction under the European Hydrogen Bank. Grant agreements for both the call and auction are expected to be signed in the coming months.
New Innovation Fund calls for proposals will be launched in the beginning of December 2025, including opportunities for electric vehicle battery projects – stay tuned.