Biotech startup ÄIO had planned to build a showcase plant in Jõhvi, to produce environmentally friendly oils and fats from wood and agricultural residues.

OÜ ÄIO Tech commercial department head Mariane Barrier told Põhjarannik: "Construction of the plant is taking longer and requires significantly more financial input than this support offers."

In October it had become clear that another planned development, a glued laminated timber products factory, which had been allocated €13 million in support, would also not be coming to Ida-Viru County.

Monica Hankov, head of the support department at the Enterprise and Innovation Foundation (EIS), said that there have been withdrawals amounting to €17.9 million across four business measures of the Just Transition Fund, while 90 percent of that amount stems from the two projects mentioned above.

These funds will now being redirected to other projects on the waiting list, and while Hankov said nearly all of the remaining funded projects are in progress and recipients of funding say they plan to meet their goals, Põhjarannik was unable to find any clear local overview of that progress.

The Just Transition Fund (JTF) was set up under the 2021-2027 EU programming round to help communities across Europe meet the challenges posed by the transition to a zero-carbon economy. This makes Ida-Viru County, home of the bulk of Estonia's oil shale industry, the main regional recipient of JTF funds in Estonia.

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