The aviation sector in Europe remains a major emitter of greenhouse gases, with emissions rebounding close to pre-pandemic levels in 2024 and 2025. In 2024, European aviation generated 187.6 million tonnes (Mt) of CO₂, indicating a near-return to the volumes seen in 2019 before the COVID-19 crisis. These emissions represented approximately 13–15% of EU transport-related GHG emissions and about 4% of the total EU emissions. By 2025, this trend continued with persistent high emissions even as efforts toward sustainability intensified.
Aviation innovation is then crucial for the EU’s climate neutrality goals, and a strategic pillar of cross-border mobility, trade, and socioeconomic growth. Fast-tracked technological innovation—spanning new aircraft design, propulsion systems, sustainable aviation fuels, and digitalization of airspace management—is the only viable path to decarbonizing air transport in time for the EU’s 2050 net-zero target.
How does the European Innovation Fund support aviation projects?
The EU Innovation Fund supports aviation projects by financing breakthrough technologies, fuels, and infrastructure designed to decarbonize the aviation sector and reduce its environmental impact. This includes direct funding for projects that advance sustainable alternative fuels (such as sustainable aviation fuel and e-fuels), electrification, new propulsion systems, and the development of low-emission or zero-emission aircraft.
The fund covers up to 60% of eligible project costs, provides substantial grant funding for the demonstration and commercial deployment of breakthrough technologies, and prioritizes projects based on effectiveness in GHG avoidance, degree of innovation, maturity, replicability, and cost efficiency.
Latest EU Innovation Fund aviation projects approved
The EU Innovation Fund has approved 3 aviation-related projects until now. Most of them are based in Sweden and belong to the “Energy-intensive industries” category.
Aviation Projects approved in France
PROJECT “HERMES”: Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft Manufactured in Europe for Sustainable aviation.
The project aims to bring to the market the first Global hybrid electric regional 19-seater aircraft, ERA. It is expected to reduce energy and maintenance costs by approximately 50% and achieve 51% relative greenhouse gas (GHC) emissions avoidance compared with the reference scenario of a conventional aircraft of a similar size.
Grant amount: €95 million.
Type: IF23Call – General large-scale.
Category: Net-zero mobility and buildings.
Sector: Aviation.
GHG emissions avoidance: 10,142,938 tonnes CO2 equivalent.
Partners: Aura Aero Sas.
Aviation Projects approved in Sweden
PROJECT “BioOstrand”: Biorefinery Östrand – The first commercial deployment of solid biomass-and-power-to- Sustainable Aviation Fuels technology line-up.
This project will contribute to the decarbonisation of the transport sector by creating a long-lasting solution for producing advanced biofuels and electro-fuels from sustainable solid biomass and renewable electricity. The project will design, build and operate the world’s first commercial scale biorefinery producing sustainable aviation fuel and naphtha from solid forest residues.
Grant amount: €166 million.
Type: 2022 Large-scale.
Category: Energy-intensive industries.
Sector: Aviation.
GHG emissions avoidance: 8,762,169 tonnes CO2 equivalent.
Partners: Biorefinery Ostrand AB.
PROJECT “HySkies”: A partnership to develop Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
The project contributes to the European and aviation industry’s decarbonisation by building the first large-scale synthetic sustainable aviation fuel production facility in Sweden. The plant will produce around 82,000 tonnes SAF and 9,000 tonnes of renewable diesel per year.
Fossil-free hydrogen from a 200 megawatts electrolyser, biogenic CO2 captured from a waste-to-energy plant, and sustainable ethanol will be fed into a two-step process consisting of gas fermentation and alcohol to jet.
Grant amount: €80 million.
Type: 2021 Large-scale.
Category: Energy-intensive industries.
Sector: Aviation.
GHG emissions avoidance: 778,780,734 tonnes CO2 equivalent.
Partners: Vattenfall (SE), LanzaTech (US).
