Distinguished guests, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to welcome you to this Innovation Fund Info Day here in Valletta, organised by the Funds and Programmes Division in its role as Malta’s National Contact Point for the Innovation Fund.
I would like to begin by thanking the Funds and Programmes Division for the work they have put into organising today’s event, as well as our colleagues from the European Commission, DG CLIMA, CINEA, and the European Investment Bank for their close collaboration and continued support. I also thank all of you for being here today, demonstrating a clear interest in innovation, sustainability, and Malta’s role in Europe’s green transition.
The Innovation Fund is one of the European Union’s most ambitious and strategic financing instruments.
It is designed to support the commercial demonstration of highly innovative low-carbon technologies, while strengthening Europe’s industrial competitiveness and helping us meet our shared objective of climate neutrality by 2050.
Financed through revenues from the EU Emissions Trading System, the Innovation Fund is expected to mobilise around €40 billion between 2020 and 2030.
To date, approximately €12 billion has already been awarded to around 200 projects across Europe. These figures alone demonstrate both the scale of the opportunity and the level of ambition behind this instrument.
The Fund supports projects in key strategic areas, including energy-intensive industries, carbon capture, utilisation and storage, renewable energy, energy storage solutions, clean mobility — now also covering maritime and aviation — as well as clean-tech manufacturing such as batteries and electrolysers. These are not abstract policy concepts; they are the building blocks of Europe’s future economy.
The 2025 Innovation Fund call, which will be presented in detail today, is the largest call to date, mobilising approximately €5.2 billion. This includes substantial funding for Net-Zero Technologies, renewable hydrogen through auctions, and pilot projects for industrial heat. Funding can cover up to 60% of relevant project costs through grants, and up to 100% under the auction mechanisms.
This is a clear signal that Europe is not only setting climate targets, but is backing them with concrete financial support for innovative, first-of-a-kind projects capable of delivering real greenhouse gas reductions.
Innovation Fund Info Days such as today’s play a crucial role in ensuring that information about these opportunities is accessible to all.
They help demystify the application process, there is a need to share lessons learned as well as communicate best practices. This needs to be coupled with support for a more balanced geographical participation across Member States.
In Malta’s scenario, while there has been growing interest in the Innovation Fund, we must also be honest with ourselves: to date, Malta has not yet secured a funded Innovation Fund project. This is precisely why today’s event is so important. It is an opportunity to raise awareness, strengthen project pipelines, and provide hands-on guidance to potential applicants.
Through the orientation dialogues taking place later today, local stakeholders will also have the chance to discuss their project ideas directly with representatives from the European Commission, CINEA, and the European Investment Bank. These exchanges are invaluable in helping project promoters assess eligibility, alignment, and maturity. It a positive way of how we prepare ourselves to embrace the challenges that this process brings about.
These applications go beyond the processes we are mainly accustomed to when using the funds made available to Malta as part of the Multi-Annual Financial Framework. We are competing with various other proposals and initiatives presented by other member states. This we need to be bolder, stronger in forging a way forward.
I would also like to highlight the importance of Project Development Assistance, which will be presented by the European Investment Bank. This support is specifically designed to help promising but not yet mature projects become stronger, more competitive, and better positioned for future Innovation Fund calls.
As Government, we remain fully committed to supporting Maltese enterprises, researchers, and innovators in accessing European funding opportunities.
We will continue to advocate at European level for improved geographical balance, while at national level we will keep strengthening our capacity to guide and support applicants throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Today is not just about information; it is about ambition. It is about encouraging Maltese stakeholders to think bigger, to collaborate, and to position themselves at the forefront of Europe’s clean-tech and net-zero transition. The greater the challenges, the higher the stakes, the larger the success.
I encourage all participants to make full use of today’s sessions, to ask questions, to engage in dialogue, and to explore how your ideas can be transformed into projects that contribute not only to Malta’s development, but also to Europe’s shared climate and industrial objectives. We can achieve more for our country working together and in unison.
I wish you a productive and insightful day, and I look forward to seeing Maltese projects successfully emerging under the Innovation Fund in the years to come.
