Mallorca firms target €138m Innterconecta fund

Mallorca companies can seek about 70 per cent funding for joint research projects under a €138 million programme presented at ParcBit in Palma on Tuesday, 22 September. Innterconecta STEP backs projects run across regions, with budgets of between €1 million and €4 million. The Centre for Technological Development and Innovation, known as CDTI, is behind the scheme.

The money is aimed at work in clean energy, digital technology and biotechnology. Companies in technology, traditional industries and services can also apply if they want to use Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) technology to tackle industrial, energy, environmental or production challenges.

Every bid must bring together at least two companies from different autonomous communities and include a technology or knowledge centre. Alongside the Balearic Islands, the programme covers Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, the Valencian Community, Extremadura, Galicia and Murcia.

CDTI president María José Tomás outlined the activities and costs that can be funded, as well as how applications will be assessed. Sebastián González, the Balearic director general for Innovation and Digital Transformation, said the call fits the RIS3 smart-specialisation strategy, which aims to diversify and modernise the islands’ economy.

The BIT Foundation said its role in the national PIDI network can help companies find and contact potential partners for cooperation calls such as Innterconecta STEP.

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com