Brussels, Nov. 16, 2021, SPA -- The European Union is to invest 1.1 billion euros (1.24 billion dollars) in new innovation projects to develop a greener economy, as part of the bloc's transition to net zero emissions by 2050, dpa quoted the European Commission as saying on Tuesday. The grants for projects are to "help restart the EU economy and create a green recovery," after the impact of Covid-19, said European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans. The seven large-scale projects are the first investments made from the commission's Innovation fund, a new EU investment vehicle that first called for applications in 2020. The fund aims to allocate 25 billion euros over the next decade for the development of low-carbon technologies to help de-carbonize the EU's economy. In France, one project is to capture emissions in a cement plant and in part store the carbon dioxide geologically in the North Sea to integrate it into concrete. Six other projects in Belgium, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden have also been selected for funding. --SPA 20:54 LOCAL TIME 17:54 GMT 0026 www.spa.gov.sa/w1652375