At the COP28 in Dubai, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Founder of Breakthrough Energy Bill Gates, and European Investment Bank President Werner Hoyer announced the first two European projects to be supported by the EU–Catalyst partnership: Ørsted’s FlagshipONE and Energy Dome’s Ottana CO2 Battery. Once completed, these two projects will be game changers in the clean tech sector and help the EU reach its 2030 climate targets. The partnership is providing €240 million in a combination of grants and commercial investment (equity and venture debt).

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “With the EU-Catalyst partnership, we joined forces to scale up projects that are high-risk for companies, but high-gain for the economy as a whole. And I’m glad that we are supporting these ground-breaking projects by Ørsted and Energy Dome. They show that EU-Catalyst is more than an investment programme. It brings together brilliant minds and innovators, engineers and entrepreneurs, and investors from the private and public sector covering the so-called green premium. It is a winning formula.”

President of the European Investment Bank, Werner Hoyer said: “Putting the world on track for net zero will require game changing technologies. The fact that they are not yet on the market means supporting innovation must be at the heart of climate action. Today we are announcing two groundbreaking projects financed under the EU Catalyst Partnership that provide concrete solutions to accelerate the green transition. Through our cooperation with the European Commission and Breakthrough Energy Catalyst we aim to support many more projects like this that support Europe’s climate goals and can be scaled up around the world.”

Bill Gates, Founder, Breakthrough Energy said: “Europe’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality has paved the way for European companies to be strong leaders in the development of innovative technologies. Through this collaboration, the European Commission and European Investment Bank are further demonstrating their unwavering support for scaling technologies. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is pioneering a new path for public institutions to work with the private sector to advance projects from development to deployment. These projects will meaningfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make tangible progress towards Europe’s clean energy future.”

The EU-Catalyst partnership creates a blueprint for public-private support for clean tech innovative technologies. It aims to accelerate the deployment of innovative low-carbon technologies while also reducing their green premiums, that is, bringing their costs to a level competitive with fossil fuels. EU funding for the partnership comes from EU’s research and innovation programme Horizon Europe and the Innovation Fund within the framework of InvestEU, according to the established governance procedures. Breakthrough Energy Catalyst mobilises equivalent private capital and philanthropic grants to fund the selected projects.

FlagshipONE project – Ørsted

Located in Sweden and owned by Danish energy company Ørsted, the FlagshipONE project is a pioneering  e-methanol production facility aiming to provide green  fuel for the shipping industry. The plant will use captured biogenic CO₂ and renewable hydrogen to produce ~55,000 tons of e-methanol annually, making it Europe’s largest integrated e-methanol production facility.

Related Article: EIB Backs Billerud’s Bioproduct Mill Upgrade with €110m Loan

Ottana CO2 Battery Project – Energy Dome

Headquartered in Milan, Energy Dome has developed the CO2 Battery, a long-duration energy storage technology based on liquified CO₂. The CO2 Battery can provide storage for 10 hours or longer, more competitively than lithium-ion batteries. With the support of the EU-Catalyst partnership, this project in Sardinia will build its first-of-a-kind, full-scale demonstration CO2 Battery energy storage facility.