CDTI Innovation adds €100M to initial budget for science and innovation tenders

• Budgetary allocations to NEOTEC 2025 over 20 million initially planned to 40 million euros, doubling its initial endowment, MISSIONS and for SCIENCE AND INNOVATION can pass from 60 to 140
• This budgetary expansion, which is linked to the Industrial and technological Plan for security and defence of the government of Spain, will focus on dual line, security and/or defence that have been submitted to the requests, thereby expanding the total number of initiatives funded by promoting the transfer of knowledge to the market and to strengthen, at the same time, the spanish technological sovereignty
• The expansion of 80 million for SCIENCE AND INNOVATION MISSIONS will focus on projects that provide a response to the mission “ training for strategic autonomy in security and defence ”

The centre for technological development and innovation (CDTI), the state agency for Innovation of the ministry of science, innovation and universities, appear in the coming days, the extraordinary budget increase of eur 100 million to be applied to projects submitted to the funding of NEOTEC 2025 and SCIENCE AND INNOVATION MISSIONS whose line technological profile is dual, security and/or defence.

In line with the deployment of Industrial and technological Plan for security and Defence Policy adopted by the government of Spain, this enlargement extraordinary budget is based on the goal of speeding up the market introduction of technological innovations based on knowledge and strengthen the country ’ s strategic autonomy, without prejudice to the proceedings in support of innovation in the field of dual not, because the new budgetary package will make it possible to increase the number of projects that may be supported with regard to the initial appropriations.

At a time when europe accelerates to protect its industrial base and win technological sovereignty, enlargement announced by the CDTI Innovation puts Spain in a proactive stance: most applied science, more entrepreneurial innovation and more results in the lives of people. The combination of technological entrepreneurship (NEOTEC) and collaborative projects large scale (MISSIONS SCIENCE AND INNOVATION) not only close the gap between laboratory and the market, but that also creates capacities that remain in ecosistema-país: talent, intellectual property, suppliers, pilot plants and investor confidence.

This budget reinforcement NEOTEC and missions of SCIENCE AND INNOVATION is in addition to one year of CDTI highs of innovation in public support for corporate r & D, recognizing that, by 2025, there will be designed to further 1,942 billion in subsidies, direct expenditure, investment in risk capital and loans with stretch for technological projects. This environment of fully funded, which extends from pre-competitive research to innovation in market, amplifies the impact of programmes now strengthened.

NEOTEC call for EBTS

If any, NEOTEC, the star of CDTI for technology-based enterprises (EBTs) in early stage, double its budget by 2025, which is increased to eur 40 million, with 20 million for EBTs innovative technologies of dual-use character (applicable under civil law and security and defence policy). This focus preserving the essence of NEOTEC — to support the creation and consolidation of EBTs, boost talent and accelerate the transfer of knowledge — while adds traction to projects with high capacity and technological externalities scaling.

NEOTEC is public action of early bridge between the knowledge generated in universities, units, centres and agencies of r & D and its conversion into business by new EBTs. This extension will enable us to tackle the budgetary high demand of the programme since, normally, only 15% and 25 per cent of the proposals presented regularly receives financing, leaving a huge number of proposals with notes over 70 points without help for budgetary reasons. In Addition, the dual technologies provide a multiplier effect and accelerate the transfer of knowledge towards cutting application solutions (energy, health, industry 4.0, space, security), raising the potential for scaling and attraction of investment.

In terms of value, duplication of the budget allocation of NEOTEC intensifies the creation of new EBTs early and consolidation of technical equipment and intellectual property as the core of the competitive advantage; professionalization of the transfer and business development, integrating research talent and corporate governance; and exerting a network effect territorial ecosystems (incubators, aceleradoras, universities, science parks) and leverage private rounds.

With the expansion of 20 million, CDTI facilitates Innovation more projects reach higher TRL within the period of support, improving their position to enter the market and compete internationally. After the enlargement of the budget of the call that elect to EBTs reserve should bring dual additional specific information on the technological base and potential dual-use items.

Convocatoria MISIONES CIENCIA E INNOVACIÓN: cooperación empresarial para retos país y autonomía tecnológica

Science and innovation missions bringing the total strength of 140 million euros. The initial strength of the convening of 60 million, is now extended to additional 80 million will be allocated to projects submitted that are in line with the mission “ strategic autonomy in security and defence ”. The aim is to speed up the maturation of critical technological solutions (cybersecurity and the protection of information; automation and advanced remote management; new platforms air, ground or sea; protection of critical infrastructures and CBRN risks) and maximize synergies between uses dual civil and security and defence policy.

The Science and innovation Missions funded large cooperative projects led by businesses that deal with strategic challenges with pre-investigation. The edition 2025 was launched with seven missions, including a primary focus in “ strategic autonomy ”, and there is a very robust historical: prior, five tenders, 168 projects, 467 million euro of subsidy and 695 million mobilized, with 688 participating companies (65 per cent smes) and more than 140 agencies knowledge generators subcontractors.

The new budget reinforcement to reach up to 140 million several key effects intensifies with convening partners:

• Dual technological traction: cyber, encrypted communications mathcad, sensors and unmanned systems, materials and platforms of new generation, protection of critical infrastructures and capabilities CBRN. These technologies provide civilian applications (health, energy, transport, industry) while reducing in critical segments units.
• Cooperation and critical mass: consortia of 3 to 6 companies — at least an sme, outsourcing — at least 15% for research centres and budgets between 3.5 and 15 million are the ideal environment to accelerate the learning curve and risk sharing in the technological frontier.
• Results-oriented ecosystem: the combination of multi-year time frame, specialization and collaborative governance promotes verifiable results (patents, prototypes, demostradores), new supply chains and opportunities.

The expansion of resources will, in addition, multiply the impact of public action in society, with more projects, better territorial balance and greater diversity of solutions. For the citizens, this translates into Areas, among others, such as:

• Health and care technologies that reduce: hospital stays, optimized descongestionan diagnoses and care; secure systems and resilient to the clinical data management.
• Safety and resilience: critical infrastructures with better standards of protection; most efficient response to emergencies and CBRN risks; communications and public services more resilient.
• Mobility and decarbonisation: platforms and solutions that reduce costs and emissions in transport and logistics, contributing to climate targets.
• Real economy: skilled employment, new industrial capacities and productivity; more opportunities for technological smes and startups in european value chains.

Why now: context, timeliness and technological leadership

The increase falls within the scope of Industrial and technological Plan for security and Defence (april 2025), which mobilizes 10.471 billion in 2025 to upgrade capacities, boosting dual technologies (IA, quantum theory, advanced telecommunications, cybersecurity, 5G/IoT, automation) and nurture the productive fabric with carry-over effects in skilled jobs and productivity. The plan itself noted the relevance of funding programmes to business consortia and research centres of CDTI as levers for channelling R & D aimed at strategic autonomy.

From a perspective of innovation policy, the measure is consistent with three goals of public interest:

• Well-being and quality of life: accelerate innovations that improve essential services (health, mobility, security of infrastructure, emergency response) reduces social costs and improve results for citizens.
• Competitiveness and growth: científico-tecnológicas capacities are the engine of an economy based on knowledge; when the state closed funding gaps in the high-risk, enables the company transformed science in competitive advantages.
• Technological sovereignty: reduce open units in critical technologies reinforces the resilience of the country and its weight in the european value chains, maintaining the principle of openness and cooperation.

On the CDTI Innovation

The CDTI innovation is the state agency for innovation of the ministry of science, innovation and universities, whose goal is the promotion of technological innovation in business. The CDTI mission is to ensure that the business fabric english generates and transform knowledge into growth científico-técnico globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive. By 2024, within the framework of a new strategic plan, the CDTI provided more than $2.3 billion euros of support for business startups and spain.

The centre for technological development and innovation, CDTI E.P.E. is a public company under the ministry of Science, innovation and universities.

This article was first published on 1 September by CDTI-SOST.