PILOT-E

PILOT-E provides funding to accelerate the development and adoption of products and services in climate- and environmentally friendly energy technology. The scheme aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency in Norway and internationally.
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Type of service
Call for proposals
Target audience
Companies with projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency
Application deadline
Expired

Companies with new and ambitious innovation projects that will help significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency in Norway and internationally.

Theme of the 2024 call:

  • Development of industrial carbon capture
  • Power – in the right place, at the right time

PILOT-E is a funding scheme for Norwegian businesses, established by the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and Enova in 2016. Gassnova joined the partnership in 2023.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of nine priority areas in the Norwegian Government's updated roadmap for a green industrial transition. The Norwegian Environment Agency's report 'Green transition – analysis of climate measures for the petroleum sector, industry and energy supply' indicates that investments in CO2 management could make significant, cost-effective contributions towards achieving national climate targets by 2030.

Carbon capture facilities must be installed at more point sources of CO2 emissions in Norwegian and international industry, and across the rest of the world, to deploy CCS at the scale envisaged by the EU – which is also an important prerequisite for Norway's efforts. We still need more cost-effective technologies and solutions for different types of point-source emissions and volumes.

A high level of electrification is essential for the transition to a low-emission society. This means we need to make much better use of the capacity in the power system. PILOT-E is inviting applications for funding for projects that can make available flexibility more accessible and/or make better use of the existing grid.

Energy and transport systems are becoming increasingly integrated, and the pace is accelerating. The direct and indirect electrification of land and maritime transport, combined with the transition of existing industries and the development of new climate-neutral industries, will increase power demand in many locations. Alongside the expected sharp rise in demand for electricity, plans are also under way to expand local power generation. Much of this will come from variable sources such as wind and solar. Together, these developments will create new challenges for existing power systems.

Norway's power system is not currently being used to its full potential. Limited access to power locally may slow development. Shared solutions for power capacity and control that enable flexibility will support industrial symbiosis and, in turn, new business development. Enabling more stakeholders to benefit from this flexibility will require some development of new technology, the use of digital solutions and algorithms, as well as the ability to adopt new technology and develop new business models.

Read more about the call on the PILOT-E website and get in touch with us for guidance on the application process.

The application deadline was 6 March 2024.

Get in touch with us if you would like to discuss your application:

We recommend our online course, Collaboration and intellectual assets, for companies and consortia planning to collaborate. The course covers several key aspects of intellectual assets that each party should consider before, during and at the end of a collaboration.

Key eligibility criteria for funding

To access our services, your company must uphold the principles of responsible business conduct and actively manage its sustainability risks. Read more about sustainability and responsible business conduct.

State aid rules

Our funding must comply with state aid rules. You must meet five general conditions for state aid.

The General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER) is part of the state aid rules. It contains provisions that allow us to provide support to businesses in a range of circumstances. We may apply one or more provisions to each case. Read more about GBER.

Legal basis for the scheme

We have notified the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) of our funding schemes. The legal basis for these notifications is available on the National Legal Basis page.

Other public funding

You must state in your application whether you have applied or intend to apply for other public funding for the project. We also determine the level of our funding based on an overall assessment of how much public funding is needed for the project to go ahead.

When determining the grant amount, we therefore assume that you will not receive any other public funding, including SkatteFUNN, beyond what you have stated in the application. This applies to funding for the project costs we used to calculate our grant (eligible costs). If you nevertheless receive other public funding, including SkatteFUNN, after we have made our offer and it covers the same costs, we may reduce our grant accordingly or withdraw it entirely.

This does not prevent your company from receiving other public funding for project costs other than those on which we have based our assessment.

More information
Read more about PILOT-E on Enova's website.
Frequently asked questions and answers
General information about the application process, how we assess applications, project details and the types of ideas we do not support.