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European Commission Awards $466 Million to 65 Clean Heat Projects Across Europe

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The European Commission selected 65 projects for 400 million euros ($465.7 million) in funding to accelerate the deployment of clean industrial heat across 10 European countries, it said Friday.

Projects in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain will use clean technologies to reduce industrial heat emissions.

The projects will cut over 6.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over 10 years by replacing natural-gas-based heating systems with cleaner alternatives.

The projects are expected to generate about 16.3 terawatt-hours of decarbonized heat during their first five years of operation using 766 megawatts of thermal capacity.

The clean heat output would replace more than 1.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas over five years, roughly matching annual consumption from about 4 million European Union households.

The European Union will fund the projects through the Innovation Fund using revenue generated from the EU Emissions Trading System.

Most projects will rely on direct or indirect resistance heating, while others will deploy heat pumps, solar thermal systems, electromagnetic heating, and hybrid technologies.

Industrial sectors receiving support include pulp and paper, glass, ceramics, construction materials, iron and steel, food and beverage, textiles and pharmaceuticals.

The auction awarded 62.1 million euros to five high-temperature projects, 286.5 million euros to 44 medium-temperature projects with capacities above 5 MW, and 47.9 million euros to 16 projects with capacities between 3 MW and 5 MW, the Commission said.

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency will prepare grant agreements for selected projects before signing the deals in the second half of 2026, according to the Commission.

The Commission also began preparations for the 2026 Innovation Fund Heat Auction, with a planned budget of 1 billion euros, while draft terms are expected by the end of May 2026.

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