EU's clean tech Innovation Fund faces questions over design, strategy and impact

Auditors question design of €40 billion clean tech fund as one in five projects fail The EU's estimated €40 billion clean tech Innovation Fund has received a scathing review from the European Court of Auditors, as the EU prepares to extend it for another seven years from 2028. João Leão, one of the auditors responsible for the report, said the Innovation Fund was a "valuable instrument to promote competitiveness and decarbonisation, however, slow deployment of funds, project failures and lack of strategy means it's not delivering at the scale Europe needs." The figures speak for themselves. Launched in 2021, the fund for deploying low-carbon technologies has so far awarded €12.3 billion in grants, but only €331.8 million, or 2.7%, has been paid out. This is because of delays and project terminations, with one in five selected projects never getting off the ground. Of 228 projects selected by mid-2025, 20 withdrew before signing the grant...