The European Commission launched the second call for proposals under the NER300 programme. This major funding programme promotes the commercial demonstration of environmentally safe carbon capture and geological storage (CCS) and innovative renewable energy (RES) technologies.

The second call of investment programme for innovative low-carbon technologies, the NER300 Programme, was launched by the European Commission. This call for proposals will be financed with revenues obtained from the sale of the remaining 100 million allowances of the NER300 and unused funds from the first call. The exact amount of funding available will depend on the carbon price at the time of sale.

The Commission highlighted that this programme promotes the commercial demonstration of environmentally safe carbon capture and geological storage (CCS) and innovative renewable energy (RES) technologies. Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard stressed that the overwhelming response to the first call showed that EU businesses have the know-how and the ambition to lead the low-carbon transition. She added that this second round offers all CCS and innovative renewable energy technologies a new chance of applying for funding, including those that were not awarded funding in the previous round. The Commission hopes to have a full range of low-carbon projects operational by 2018.

Under the first call, over €1.2 billion funding was awarded to 23 innovative renewable energy projects in 16 member states, including countries that are currently in fiscal and economic difficulty. The funding will leverage a further €2 billion of private investment and could add thousands of jobs in the EU. The NER300 is funded from the sale of 300 million allowances from the New Entrants Reserve (NER) of the EU Emission Trading System (ETS). It is the EU's major programme of investment in low-carbon and renewable energy demonstration projects, and is implemented by the European Commission with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB).