105 million for AI and digitalisation projects.
Aid for digitalisation is not taking long to arrive. The Government has established a call for aid amounting to 105 million euros, aimed at supporting industrial research and experimental development projects in artificial intelligence, as well as other digital technologies.
GD Empresa
October 18, 2021
The call has been made on the basis of input received from the expression of interest launched this summer and taken up by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, with an application deadline that has now closed.
Digital Spain 2025 Plan
In July 2020, the Digital Spain 2025 Plan was presented, an updated Agenda that promotes the Digital Transformation of Spain as "one of the fundamental levers for relaunching economic growth [...] and taking advantage of all the opportunities offered by these new technologies".
The National Artificial Intelligence Strategy provides a framework of reference and impetus for the public and private sector. In fact, the promotion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the main elements of this agenda, whose strategic axis is to promote scientific research, technological development and innovation.
Since the Council of Ministers gave the green light to the Recovery Plan last April, it has become a kind of roadmap for the development of the European 'Next Generation EU' funds, structured around the four transformations on which the government has based its economic policy strategy: the ecological transition, the digital transformation, gender equality and social and territorial cohesion.
Eligible projects
Las características que se van a tener en cuenta para elegir los proyectos beneficiarios tienen que ver con el desarrollo de ámbitos estratégicos de la I+D+i empresarial y el emprendimiento en el ámbito tecnológico. Entre otras actuaciones, se incluyen aquéllas que aborden el desarrollo y el emprendimiento tecnológico frente a retos de la sociedad, de forma que fomenten el desarrollo de los conocimientos y tecnologías necesarios para abordar y buscar soluciones a problemas complejos asociados a dichos retos en base a:
The characteristics to be taken into account in the selection of beneficiary projects are related to the development of strategic areas of business R&D&I and technological entrepreneurship. Among other actions, they include those that address technological development and entrepreneurship in the face of societal challenges, so as to foster the development of the knowledge and technologies needed to address and seek solutions to complex problems associated with these challenges on the basis of:
Industrial Research: This call will allocate EUR 50 million to fund projects of this nature, based on a series of studies aimed at acquiring new knowledge and skills that can be used to develop new products. It covers the creation of complex system components and may include the construction of prototypes in a laboratory environment.
Experimental Development: 55 million is earmarked for this sector, which deals with the acquisition, shaping and use of existing scientific, technological, business and other knowledge and know-how for the development of new or improved products, processes or services.
As announced by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and AI, a maximum of 3 projects per applicant entity will be funded. The minimum budget for eligible industrial research projects will be 500,000 euros and the maximum 10 million euros, while for experimental development projects the minimum will be 300,000 euros and the maximum 5 million euros.
The maximum aid intensity varies between 25% and 80% of the eligible costs depending on the type of activity, the size of the company and whether or not the results of the projects are likely to be publicly disseminated.