# LLM Context
URL: https://weeg.it/notizie/innovation-fund-2025-if25-heat-auction-2/

# Innovation Fund 2025: IF25 Heat Auction for Industrial Decarbonization

> The page explains the Innovation Fund 2025 and the IF25 Heat Auction for industrial heat decarbonization, including eligible technologies, budget categories, the competitive-auction mechanism, a worked example, and the role described for ESCo services.

## Page details

- **Source language:** Italian
- **Content type:** News article
- **Original title:** Innovation Fund 2025: come accedere ai contributi IF25 Heat Auction per la decarbonizzazione industriale
- **English title:** Innovation Fund 2025: How to Access IF25 Heat Auction Support for Industrial Decarbonization
- **Source URL:** https://weeg.it/notizie/innovation-fund-2025-if25-heat-auction-2/
- **Summary:** The article describes the Innovation Fund and the IF25 Heat Auction, a competitive mechanism for grants supporting industrial heat decarbonization projects.

## Innovation Fund 2025

The page describes the Innovation Fund as an EU financing program with more than **€40 billion** dedicated to industrial decarbonization and to the demonstration and commercial deployment of low-carbon technologies.

It states that the fund is managed by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action and implemented by CINEA, and links it to the European objective of climate neutrality by 2050.

## Eligible participants and sectors

The article says the fund is aimed at companies and public or private entities active in areas including:

- energy-intensive industries such as cement, steel, chemicals, glass and ceramics;
- carbon capture, utilization and storage projects (CCU and CCS);
- renewable-energy technologies;
- energy-storage systems;
- low-emission maritime, aviation and road transport.

## IF25 Heat Auction timing and purpose

The page states that the **IF25 Heat Auction** is expected to open between **December 2025 and February 2026** and is intended to provide non-repayable support for projects that decarbonize heat in industrial processes.

## Eligible IF25 Heat technologies

The listed eligible measures are:

- high-temperature heat pumps;
- electric heat generators and/or electric thermal-storage systems;
- process-heat systems such as furnaces and dryers using direct or indirect electric resistance, electromagnetic heating, dielectric heating or plasma;
- solar thermal or geothermal heat for industrial processes;
- hybrid projects combining multiple technologies.

## Budget and categories

The page reports a total budget of **€1 billion**, divided into three categories:

| Category | Heat conditions | Budget | Maximum per project |
| --- | --- | ---: | ---: |
| 1 | 100–400 °C and 3–5 MWth | €150 million | €100 million |
| 2 | 100–400 °C and above 5 MWth | €350 million | €100 million |
| 3 | Above 400 °C | €500 million | €250 million |

The article states that support could potentially cover up to **100% of capital expenditure** and that combining it with local grants for capital and operating expenditure is not allowed.

## How the competitive auction works

The article describes a reverse-auction mechanism in which companies compete by requesting the lowest public contribution for a given output. It says grants are allocated through bidding on the cost of avoided CO2, based on:

1. the amount of CO2 emissions reduction, assessed using ETS parameters over five years of project operation;
2. the percentage contribution requested relative to eligible expenditure.

Projects with a lower requested cost per tonne of CO2 avoided are described as more competitive.

## Worked example on the page

The page gives an example of a process-heat pump above 3 MWth and above 100 °C:

- investment: **€3 million**;
- annual emissions reduction: **3,000 tCO2eq/year**;
- five-year reduction: **15,000 tCO2eq**;
- requested contribution: **€2 million**, equal to 66% of investment cost;
- resulting bid: **€133/tCO2eq**.

## ESCo role described by the article

The page states that estimated CO2 savings at application stage are to be assessed by an independent qualified third party, such as an ESCo, and later measured using certified instrumentation and third-party verification.

It also states that grants would be paid during the first five production years in six-month instalments based on measured and certified thermal-energy production.

## White Energy Group support described on the page

The article says White Energy Group can support companies with:

- technical and financial assistance for applications;
- preparation of documentation requested by the European Commission;
- identification of processes that can be improved or electrified and suitable decarbonization technologies;
- feasibility assessment of projects already identified by the company;
- ex-ante and ex-post measurements to support innovation and climate-impact criteria;
- periodic performance and emissions-reduction reporting linked to grant payments.

The page also presents White Energy Group's **EnPC Green Heat** offering, under which it states that the ESCo can invest directly in industrial customer processes and share savings and CO2 reductions, and its **Green Solar PPA** offering for renewable electricity supply.

## Related links

- [Italian Innovation Fund information](https://www.ets.minambiente.it/InnovationFund/)
- [European Commission / CINEA Innovation Fund](https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/innovation-fund_en)
- [White Energy Group](https://weeg.it/)
- [Energy Performance Contract services](https://weeg.it/soluzioni-energetiche-per-aziende/esco-energy-performance-solutions/)
- [Green Heat](https://weeg.it/soluzioni-energetiche-per-aziende/esco-energy-performance-solutions/impianti-termici-rinnovabili/)
- [Green Solar PPA](https://weeg.it/soluzioni-energetiche-per-aziende/esco-energy-performance-solutions/contratti-ppa/)