Greece secures Innovation Fund support for four green energy projects

European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra met with Greek Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou in Athens to discuss energy transition and industrial infrastructure funding. The meeting highlighted the selection of four strategic Greek projects for funding through the EU Innovation Fund, a program designed to support the transition to net-zero emissions.

The selected projects include:

• ORION by Heraklis Group (Holcim), focusing on decarbonizing cement production through electrified clinker production. • TALOS by PPC Renewables, involving the development of a large-scale renewable energy microgrid and long-duration storage in Crete. • AEGEANFLOAT by TERNA Energy, a pilot project for a 45 MW floating offshore wind farm in the Aegean Sea. • AN-1-B by Hellenic Hydrogen, which aims to produce renewable hydrogen via 50 MW electrolysis.

Discussions also covered the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) and preparations for the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Turkey. The Innovation Fund, which has a budget of approximately 40 billion euros for 2020–2030, utilizes revenues from the sale of emission allowances to drive investment in clean technologies.