There is >€35bn in grant funding available for net zero innovation projects from Horizon Europe – and the funding pot is growing.
Is there grant funding for net zero, biodiversity or resource efficiency?
Yes, there is significant European and national grant funding available for innovation and demonstration projects for the topics of net zero, biodiversity and resources efficiency.
Under Framework Programme 7 (FP7), the European Innovation Funding Framework that ran from 2007 to 2013 with a total budget of €50.5bn, there was €10.1bn (20%) dedicated to climate mitigation topics. In Horizon 2020, which ran between 2014 and 2020, around 35% of the total €79bn grant funding available (€27.5bn) was allocated to ‘addressing climate actions’, including €1bn for the EU Green Deal. Horizon Europe, the current EU Innovation Funding Framework running to 2028, has a €95.5bn total grant funding budget, of which €33.4bn is dedicated to climate action (35%).
What kind of net zero, biodiversity and resource efficiency projects are eligible for grant funding?
Funding priorities for net zero, biodiversity and resource efficiency projects are closely aligned with UK and EU climate policies. Current themes include:
- Net Zero transition and industrial decarbonisation
- Sustainable mobility and transport electrification
- Circular economy and waste
- Nature-based solutions and biodiversity restoration
- Climate adaptation and resilience (e.g. flooding, resilient cities)
- Digital environmental intelligence: AI and data platforms for monitoring ecosystems
How much grant funding can I expect to win for my net zero, biodiversity and resource efficiency project?
R&D Grants vary significantly in the amount of funding they offer, from £25,000 or €25,000 for feasibility studies, up to £20m or €20m for multi-partner collaboration grants.
Grant funders also offer a percentage of the total project costs in grant funding, anywhere from 100% (early TRL grants or grants for non-profits), to 60% – 70% (standard rate for SMEs), down to 10% – 25% for larger capital-based projects. This is known as the ‘intervention rate’ and should be stated in the guidance for each grant call.
What costs are covered in grant funded projects?
Costs covered by R&D grant funders tend to be similar across the UK and Europe. They can include staff wages and overheads, capital costs, material costs, subcontractor costs, travel & subsistence, and legal advice (normally around intellectual property).
It is common for the staff costs category to be the highest cost centre with as much as 70%+ costs being spent on wages and overheads.
In the majority of R&D grants there is an “overheads” or “indirect costs” category that is autocalculated by the funder to account for general expenses. This cost category is calculated as 20% of labour costs (UK) or 25% of labour costs + travel costs + subcontractor costs (EU).
How long does it take to secure grant funding?
The preparation time for a grant application ranges between a few weeks (single applicant project to a straightforward grant call) to 6 months (multi-partner, cross-border, thematic R&D grant).
The decision timeframe for R&D grant applications ranges between 4 weeks and 20 weeks, again depending on the funder and grant call. Expect single applicant SME R&D grants to have a decision time of around 8 weeks, and complex collaborative grant decision to take up to 20 weeks.
Some grant calls, such as EIC Accelerator, have multiple stages and so take longer to reach a final decision on funding. Details on decision timeframes for R&D grants are provided in the guidance for applicants with each R&D grant call.
What other net zero, biodiversity or resource efficiency projects have won grant funding?
Far too many to list here! CORDIS contains a comprehensive list of all grant funded projects under the various European Funding Programmes. Each project is listed with a description, partners and key project information. The site is searchable.
Innovate UK provides information on funded projects stored in government archives. These tend to be stored in spreadsheets (searchable using CTRL+F), but they have not yet made this data particularly accessible. However, key word searches are possible.
What grants are available for Net Zero, Biodiversity and Resource Efficiency innovation projects?
A wide range of UK and EU funding programmes are available to innovators tackling climate and environmental challenges. These support projects at every stage of maturity – from early-stage feasibility studies to large-scale commercial pilots.
Key funding opportunities include:
- UK: Innovate UK Open Calls, Energy Catalyst, Sustainable Innovation Fund, Innovation Loans, Investor Partnerships, Energy Entrepreneurs Fund
- EU: Horizon Europe (EIC Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator; Clusters 4–6), LIFE Programme, Biodiversa+
- EUREKA: Eurostars, Green Transition calls, Thematic Clusters (e.g. ITEA, CELTIC-NEXT)
- Other sources: UKRI Research Councils, BEIS/DSIT Net Zero funding, European Investment Bank’s green financing
