Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LEADS (CREATING AND MANAGING A PIPELINE OF H2020 PROJECTS FOR THE INNOVATION FUND ON CCUS)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30
Carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS) has been recently recognized as a key technology to reduce carbon emissions, especially in hard-to-abate sectors, and significantly contribute to EU carbon neutrality targets for 2030 and 2050. Accelerating the upscaling and subsequent market introduction of CCUS research results and technologies is becoming thus increasingly urgent. The Horizon 2020 Programme (H2020) has contributed to the development of innovative technologies, including CCUS. The Innovation Fund Programme (IF) on the other hand, focuses on commercial demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. The transition from mature H2020 projects to the IF is a logical pipeline along the TRL line. Synergies between these and other EU funding programmes can contribute substantially to overcome the hurdles and de-risk large scale investments in first-of-a-kind CCUS flagship projects, but still much remains to be done in accelerating go-to-market strategies for publicly funded innovations. LEADS aims at bridging the gap from research to deployment for CCUS projects in Europe by building an innovation pipeline of promising H2020/HEU projects and supporting project owners to overcome the main bottlenecks and reach final investment decision. Building on their outstanding experience in innovation and EU programmes, as well as leveraging on their strong EU networks, LEADS partners will implement a well-designed methodology and set of measures to assess and select the most promising H2020 projects, coach them and enable them to apply to IF. LEADS methodology will be tested with six H2020 CCUS project cases. A set of reusable IF tools will be created and made available to CCUS stakeholders. Synergy mechanisms between H2020 and IF will be also created by aligning the CCUS up-scaling potential with IF targets. At LEADS project end, at least three H2020 projects are expected to have completed the full LEADS cycle and have submitted a full IF application.
The main goal of the LEADS project is to accelerate Europe’s progress towards becoming the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, in line with the Green Deal, the ‘Fit for 55’ package, and the 2030 Climate Target Plan. The project aims to establish a pipeline of CCUS initiatives and support their development to full-scale deployment, building on the results of previous EU-funded projects (notably under Horizon 2020). In doing so, LEADS will unlock the significant carbon reduction potential embedded in H2020-supported R&D outcomes.
The work carried out was structured around six Specific Objectives (SO1–SO6) that reflect the project’s strategic ambition to create and manage a pipeline of CCUS projects and to prepare them for successful Innovation Fund applications. Each SO will deliver tangible results in mapping, evaluation, tool development, stakeholder engagement, and strategic alignment:
Under SO1 - Create a pipeline of H2020/HEU projects to apply to IF - 95 H2020/HEU CCUS projects were mapped (well exceeding the target of 40), with 30 shortlisted and six selected for initial Viability Check. LEADS partners got in touch with several organizations (Advisory Board members, EC partnerships, etc.) with the aim to facilitate contacts with CCUS project owners and build the LEADS project pipeline. LEADS also co-organised with the other CSAs the high-impact synergy event “Unlocking Low Carbon Innovation” in Bruxelles in May 2025, to which several project owners participated, as well as other activities to attract interest from external project owners and stakeholders in the LEADS support (see also SO6 below).
In line with SO2 - Assess and select most suitable projects - six projects (from TNO, AVANTIUM, and NOVIS) underwent Viability Checks, and four were fully assessed, with detailed gap analyses delivered in D1.2. Additionally, the CEMCAP project was onboarded and supported throughout the preparation of a successful IF24 proposal.
SO3 - Build capacity, supporting CCUS project owners to overcome residual bottlenecks, prepare for IF investment decision and enable them to apply to IF: Although none of the core projects passed SG1 and advanced to formal coaching , LEADS initiated preparatory work, including coaching framework design and tailored technical support. These exchanges served as an informal pre-coaching phase, setting the stage for a second round of Viability Checks conducted between February and June 2025. CEMCAP received specific support on its technical annexes and feasibility study as part of their full application for the IF Call 2024.
As part of SO4 - Foster synergies between H2020 and IF, as well as other EU funding programmes - LEADS built strong synergies with sister CSA projects (2DPLOY, H2IF, REALIZE, DIAMONDS4IF) through joint communication strategies, shared events, and collaborative knowledge exchange. Lessons learnt were shared publicly via LinkedIn, and a consolidated report is under preparation.
To reach the SO5 - Create and make available to stakeholders a set of IF tools and materials to support them in various forms - IF-specific tools have been delivered, including six guidelines, a self-check questionnaire, a training slide pack and a video tutorial shared through the EERA CCS webinar. The IF tools and services have been reported in D4.2 (submitted on M18). Further training modules and templates are under development and will be rolled out during the second period and reported in D4.3 (due date M30).
Finally, for SO6 - Reach a sound impact of performed activities by involving relevant CCUS stakeholders to increase the "deal-flow" from H2020 - over 15 high-potential projects were engaged, with one IF24 proposal submitted. LEADS maintained a strong presence at major industry events including INDTech 2024, the European Process Industry Conference, INDTech 2025, and the ZEP Annual Projects Network. It also featured in multiple editions of the A.SPIRE newsletter and leveraged networks such as Processes4Planet and Hubs4Circularity to boost outreach.
Overall, the project has built a solid foundation to reach impactful outcomes in the second reporting period, with the pipeline, tools, coaching and stakeholder network in place to support future Innovation Fund applications.
The work carried out was structured around six Specific Objectives (SO1–SO6) that reflect the project’s strategic ambition to create and manage a pipeline of CCUS projects and to prepare them for successful Innovation Fund applications. Each SO will deliver tangible results in mapping, evaluation, tool development, stakeholder engagement, and strategic alignment:
Under SO1 - Create a pipeline of H2020/HEU projects to apply to IF - 95 H2020/HEU CCUS projects were mapped (well exceeding the target of 40), with 30 shortlisted and six selected for initial Viability Check. LEADS partners got in touch with several organizations (Advisory Board members, EC partnerships, etc.) with the aim to facilitate contacts with CCUS project owners and build the LEADS project pipeline. LEADS also co-organised with the other CSAs the high-impact synergy event “Unlocking Low Carbon Innovation” in Bruxelles in May 2025, to which several project owners participated, as well as other activities to attract interest from external project owners and stakeholders in the LEADS support (see also SO6 below).
In line with SO2 - Assess and select most suitable projects - six projects (from TNO, AVANTIUM, and NOVIS) underwent Viability Checks, and four were fully assessed, with detailed gap analyses delivered in D1.2. Additionally, the CEMCAP project was onboarded and supported throughout the preparation of a successful IF24 proposal.
SO3 - Build capacity, supporting CCUS project owners to overcome residual bottlenecks, prepare for IF investment decision and enable them to apply to IF: Although none of the core projects passed SG1 and advanced to formal coaching , LEADS initiated preparatory work, including coaching framework design and tailored technical support. These exchanges served as an informal pre-coaching phase, setting the stage for a second round of Viability Checks conducted between February and June 2025. CEMCAP received specific support on its technical annexes and feasibility study as part of their full application for the IF Call 2024.
As part of SO4 - Foster synergies between H2020 and IF, as well as other EU funding programmes - LEADS built strong synergies with sister CSA projects (2DPLOY, H2IF, REALIZE, DIAMONDS4IF) through joint communication strategies, shared events, and collaborative knowledge exchange. Lessons learnt were shared publicly via LinkedIn, and a consolidated report is under preparation.
To reach the SO5 - Create and make available to stakeholders a set of IF tools and materials to support them in various forms - IF-specific tools have been delivered, including six guidelines, a self-check questionnaire, a training slide pack and a video tutorial shared through the EERA CCS webinar. The IF tools and services have been reported in D4.2 (submitted on M18). Further training modules and templates are under development and will be rolled out during the second period and reported in D4.3 (due date M30).
Finally, for SO6 - Reach a sound impact of performed activities by involving relevant CCUS stakeholders to increase the "deal-flow" from H2020 - over 15 high-potential projects were engaged, with one IF24 proposal submitted. LEADS maintained a strong presence at major industry events including INDTech 2024, the European Process Industry Conference, INDTech 2025, and the ZEP Annual Projects Network. It also featured in multiple editions of the A.SPIRE newsletter and leveraged networks such as Processes4Planet and Hubs4Circularity to boost outreach.
Overall, the project has built a solid foundation to reach impactful outcomes in the second reporting period, with the pipeline, tools, coaching and stakeholder network in place to support future Innovation Fund applications.