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João Leão

João Leão

Member of the European Court of Auditors

Appears in 1 story

Notable Quotes

The Innovation Fund is a valuable instrument to promote competitiveness and decarbonisation, however, slow deployment of funds, project failures and lack of strategy means it's not delivering at the scale Europe needs.

Stories

Europe bets billions on homegrown clean industry as auditors warn the money isn't reaching factories

Built World

Published critical audit of the Innovation Fund in March 2026

The European Commission signed grant agreements worth €2.7 billion with 54 clean industry projects on March 24, 2026 — the largest single disbursement in the Innovation Fund's six-year history. The projects span 17 countries and 17 industrial sectors, from electrolyzer manufacturing to lithium refining for electric vehicle batteries, with individual grants ranging from €1.8 million to €216 million. Four days earlier, the Commission revealed that its 2025 competitive auctions attracted nearly €10 billion in bids from European companies racing to decarbonize, more than double the €4.1 billion available.

Updated Mar 24