€2.2 billion of the Horizon 2020 programme funding will be allocated to clean energy projects in four interrelated areas: renewables, energy-efficient buildings, electromobility and storage solutions. This also includes €200 million to support the development and production of the next generation of electric batteries, which will play an essential role in reducing dependency on fossil fuels and radically reducing emissions.
This announcement was made by the European Commission on October 27, while presenting the priorities for the Horizon 2020 programme. In addition to clean energy, other focus areas include migration, security, climate and digital economy.
Horizon 2020 is the EU’s biggest ever research and innovation framework programme, with a budget of €77 billion over seven years (2014-2020). The vast majority of this funding will be allocated on the basis of competitive calls which are open to applications from researchers, businesses and other interested organisations located in any of the EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon 2020, including the EU Neighbourhood countries. As of October 2017, Horizon 2020 has in total funded more than 15,000 grants amounting to €26.65 billion.
