Category: Innovation Fund Insights

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From Grant Award to Financial Close: Why Innovation Fund Projects Face Implementation Risks

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Innovation Fund Insights · Article 3 of 5 By Yasir Khan · Published 9 November 2026 Why financing, permitting, infrastructure and market readiness can determine whether an innovative project moves into operation. Winning an Innovation Fund grant is an important milestone for a company developing an innovative low-carbon technology. It can validate a project’s potential, […]

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The Innovation Fund’s First Five Years: What the European Commission’s 2026 Evaluation Reveals

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Innovation Fund Insights · Article 2 of 5 By Yasir Khan · Published 2 November 2026 Portfolio scale, investment potential, climate ambitions and the challenge of delivery Europe’s transition to a climate-neutral economy requires more than ambitious targets and promising technologies. It requires investment in industrial facilities, energy infrastructure and innovative processes capable of reducing […]

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Clean Energy

In 2019 the EU completed a comprehensive update of its energy policy framework to facilitate the transition away from fossil fuels towards cleaner energy and to deliver on the EU’s Paris Agreement commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The agreement on this new energy rulebook – called the Clean energy for all Europeans package – marked a significant step towards the implementation of the energy union strategy, published in 2015.

Climate, Energy and Mobility is the focus for Cluster 5 in Horizon Europe. This clusters aims to fight climate change by better understanding its causes, evolution, risks, impacts and opportunities, and by making the energy and transport sectors more climate and environment-friendly, more efficient and competitive, smarter, safer and more resilient

More information here.

Recent Projects

Mortiz Thiede

Dr. Mortiz Thiede

Financial Modelling & Loan Facilities

Dr. Moritz Thiede strengthens Impact Funding Europe’s finance work with robust modelling and debt-structuring expertise. Trained as an economist (Diplom-Volkswirt), he has served as a Senior Consultant delivering complex company analyses, controlling systems, restructuring support, and financing advisory.

He builds bankable financial models, develops scenarios that survive stress tests, and translates project narratives into lender-ready numbers—cashflow logic, covenants, and repayment capacity. Moritz supports clients in structuring loan facilities, negotiating term sheets, and aligning funding strategy with operational reality, including blended finance approaches where grants and debt must fit together cleanly. He works comfortably with lenders and investors alike.

Olaf Gerd Gemein

Olaf Gerd Gemein

Verocity

Olaf is a passionate Serial Entrepreneur and Business Architect with a specific ambition: to be a change catalyst!

With over 30 years of practical experience in various markets in Europe, Asia, North and South America and Canada, he has successfully supported more than 100 projects in the ICT sector. His contributions have focused on accelerating start-up and innovation clusters, building networks, products and services from scratch, facilitating and implementing go-to-market strategies. He is frequently asked to speak at conferences and facilitate networking on smart tech topics around the world.

Peter Schottes

Peter Schottes

Eisenschmidt Consulting

Peter holds a PhD in nature science (climate impact research), worked as a project manager for software development and as a freelance consultant. He is managing director and shareholder of Eisenschmidt Consulting Crew in Kiel, Germany. He is a specialist in transformation projects and works as a sparring partner for top executives. His focus in on strategy development, digital transformation and concept development.

Peter is active as advisor for StartUps and Angel investor. At IFE he overlooks the entire process of community building, stakeholder management and is also responsible for the project kick-offs.

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Alex Chalkley

Venturenomix

Alex has a BSc in Mathematics, Economics & Computing and has already built a market-leading R&D Funding Consultancy in the UK from 2009 to 2019. Alex has developed funding bids, mainly in the form of R&D Grant Applications, that have secured over €60m for clients operating at the forefront of technology innovation. Venturenomix, focuses on supporting Impact Ventures by offering specialist funding related consultancy services to ambitious people seeking funding for good projects. At IFE, Alex is Managing Director and responsible for all aspects of the business, in particular recruiting, mentoring and adding value to the EU Grant Writing Consultants working on multi-million Euro EU Grant Applications.

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Smart City

A smart city is a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital and telecommunication technologies for the benefit of its inhabitants and business. 

A smart city goes beyond the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for better resource use and less emissions. It means smarter urban transport networks, upgraded water supply and waste disposal facilities and more efficient ways to light and heat buildings. It also means a more interactive and responsive city administration, safer public spaces and meeting the needs of an ageing population. Last not least, it aims to make a city a healthier, more sustainable and more attractive place to be for its residents and visitors.

More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. This is expected to reach 80% by 2050. Cities and metropolitan areas are centres of economic activity, knowledge generation, innovation and new technologies. Cities influence the quality of life of citizens who live or work in them and they are major contributors to global challenges.

A mission in this area will help us meet the goals and targets set out by international policy frameworks such as the COP21 Paris Agreement, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (notably SDG11), the Urban Agenda for the EU and the Habitat III New Urban Agenda as cities play a key role in all of them.

Read more here.

Recent Projects

  • OASC: Open and Agile Smart Cities: IFE Founder, Olad-Gerd Gemien, initiated and lead the Funding Working Group of OASC 2018.
  • Open Data Portal: IFE supported the City of Paderborn applying for funding of €3.5m for the Open Urban Data Portal.
  • Smart City Kiel: IFE supported the City of Kiel application for €17.5m grant funding for a large implementation Smart City concept.
  • Urban Data Portal: IFE supported the City of Lübeck (Germany) architecture of the Urban Data Portal.
  • Smart City Implementation: IFE supported the city of Flensburg, the counties Nordfriesland and Schleswig-Flensburg in application for €15m grant funding for a large Smart City strategy and implementation.
  • Urban Data Platforms: IFE continues to supported various stakeholder groups in India, Canada and the US in charge for the European Commission and the WorldBank related to Urban Data platforms.
  • Smart Country Portal: IFE supported the Cloud Architecture of the Smart Country Portal in Bavaria (Germany).
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Green Deal

The European Green Deal sets out how to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. It maps a new, sustainable and inclusive growth strategy to boost the economy, improve people’s health and quality of life, care for nature, and leave no one behind.

The Green Deal spans and informs all of the Horizon Europe Pillars and Destinations. As such, there is no dedicated funding programme, apart from Horizon Europe itself. This strategy underpins Horizon Europe funding from 2021-2027. You can read more about the Pillars and funding opportunities here.

Recent Projects

  • European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) / Energy Communities / Community Support Action / Currently 9 partners

    IFE represents a world-leading consortium including an Energy Innovation Campus and Start-Up Community “GreenTEC Campus” (combining households, Renewable Energy Generators and 50+ businesses incl. StartUps), 2x technology partners (Energy Demand Management & Open Data), 4x Energy Communities (Netherlands, Greece, Germany & Spain), and 2x respected EU-wide Knowledge Transfer Agencies (Innovation & Energy specialists).
    The overarching objective of the consortium partners is to create a sustainable support technology framework to enable new networks of Energy Communities (households, generators, grid operators and utilities) in understanding and realising their own potential to manage and reduce energy consumption, hence reducing energy costs as well as greenhouse gases and have a positive impact on the climate crisis in general. The approach aligns with the wider EU goals of ‘twin technology’ and ‘decarbonisation at scale’.
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Open Data

The success of Europe’s digital transformation will depend on establishing effective rules to ensure trustworthy technologies, to give businesses the confidence and means to digitise, and to ensure highest privacy standards for citizens. The Data Strategy and the White Paper on Artificial Intelligence are the first pillars of the new digital strategy of the Commission. They all focus on the need to put people first in developing technology, as well as on the need to defend and promote European values and rights in how we design, make and deploy technology in the economy.

The European strategy for data aims at creating a single market for data that will ensure Europe’s global competitiveness and data sovereignty. Common European data spaces will ensure that more data becomes available for use in the economy and society, while keeping companies and individuals who generate the data in control.

Cluster 4 in Horizon Europe is dedicated to Digital, Industry and Space. The overarching vision behind the proposed investments under Cluster 4 is that of Europe shaping competitive and trusted technologies for a European industry with global leadership in key areas, enabling production and consumption to respect the boundaries of our planet, and maximising the benefits for all parts of society in the variety of social, economic and territorial contexts in Europe.

This will build a competitive, digital, low-carbon and circular industry, ensure sustainable supply of raw materials, develop advanced materials and provide the basis for advances and innovation in  global challenges to society.

Recent Projects

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Mobility

The European Green Deal calls for a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport in order for the EU to become a climate-neutral economy by 2050, while also working towards a zero-pollution ambition. To achieve this systemic change, we need to (1) make all transport modes more sustainable, (2) make sustainable alternatives widely available in a multimodal transport system and (3) put in place the right incentives to drive the transition.

Climate, Energy and Mobility is the focus for Cluster 5 in Horizon Europe. This clusters aims to fight climate change by better understanding its causes, evolution, risks, impacts and opportunities, and by making the energy and transport sectors more climate and environment-friendly, more efficient and competitive, smarter, safer and more resilient

More information here.

Recent Projects

  • Smart MaaS: Our team secured funding for the ‘German funded platform for mobility as a Service’ by developing the concept and successful application. Secured €3,9m funding, facilitated several workshops and conferences 2018-2021.
  • MaaS (mobility as a service, ERTICO) Alliance: IFE are a member of the Architecture, Standards and API working group and currently guiding the group towards interoperability, 2019-2021.
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Agriculture

The Farm to Fork Strategy is at the heart of the Green Deal. It addresses comprehensively the challenges of sustainable food systems and recognises the inextricable links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet. The strategy is also central to the Commission’s agenda to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All citizens and operators across value chains, in the EU and elsewhere, should benefit from a just transition, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn. A shift to a sustainable food system can bring environmental, health and social benefits, offer economic gains and ensure that the recovery from the crisis puts us onto a sustainable path. Ensuring a sustainable livelihood for primary producers, who still lag behind in terms of income, is essential for the success of the recovery and the transition.

Cluster 6 under Horizon Europe ringfences innovation grant funding for Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resouces, Agriculture & Environment. This cluster aims at reducing environmental degradation, halting and reversing the decline of biodiversity on land, inland waters and sea and better managing natural resources through transformative changes of the economy and society in both urban and rural areas. It will ensure food and nutrition security for all within planetary boundaries through knowledge, innovation and digitalisation in agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and food systems and steer and accelerate the transition to a low carbon, resource efficient circular economy and sustainable bioeconomy, including forestry.

More information here.

Recent Projects

  • Agricultural DataSpace: We are working with a world-leading consortium of partners on developing the world’s first interoperable, integrated and open DataSpace for the Agricultural Sector. This 15+ consortium partnership brings together leading academics, Gaia-X founding members, innovative SMEs (Field Digital Twin Technology), regions and real use cases (to address environmental challenges).
  • Agri Community: In partnership with Bable, we are building out a global community to bring together all stakeholders in the Agricultural sector through a digital platform. Connections will be enabled between innovative solution providers, consultants and actors in the agri-supply chain – all with a keen focus on EU Green Deal goals.