The CDTI Innovation mobilizes 11.95 million to boost Spanish participation in international projects in high-impact R&D cooperation

The CDTI Innovation, the innovation agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), has launched the call for direct grants corresponding to 2026 to finance the participation of Spanish entities in R&D projects approved in international calls of the Eurostars-3 program and of various programs (Water4All, Agroecology, FutureFoodS and Clean Energy Transition) cofinanced from Pillar II of Horizon Europe, the European Union R&D Framework Program. The objective of this action, endowed with 11.95 million euros in grant mode by direct concession, is to continue boosting the capacity of Spanish companies to compete, cooperate and lead technological initiatives in the European and international space of innovation.

Of these, just over EUR 10 million will go to the Eurostars-3 programme, while EUR 1.9 million will finance projects approved in international calls for proposals from the partnerships Water4All, Agroecology, FutureFoodS and Clean Energy Transition. The aid is aimed at companies that develop R&D projects in Spain and that have been previously selected in the international calls contemplated in the resolution in those lines in which the CDTI acts as a national financing agency. In this way, the procedure allows the results of international competitive processes already resolved to be transferred to the state level, ensuring that approved Spanish participants can access the financial support necessary to execute their projects under appropriate conditions.

Eurostars-3

In the case of Eurostars-3, the call refers to the projects approved in the ninth international call, known as Cut-off Date 9 or CoD9, whose closure took place on September 4, 2025. Likewise, the resolution also incorporates the tenth call, CoD10, with international closure scheduled for March 19, 2026.

Eurostars-3 is one of the most consolidated instruments supporting market-oriented international innovation. The programme is part of the European Association of Innovative SMEs of Horizon Europe and is developed through a grant agreement between the Eureka Secretariat and the European Innovation Council and the Executive Agency for SMEs. It involves 37 countries that belong to the Eureka Secretariat, which makes it one of the great European platforms for promoting collaborative business projects with a strong technological component and a vocation for commercial exploitation.

Partnerships Pillar II Horizon Europe

In parallel, it includes the calls for co-financed partnerships of Pillar II of Horizon Europe corresponding to Water4All, with international closure on 29 April 2025; Agroecology, with closure on 9 July 2025; FutureFoodS, also with closure on 9 July 2025; and Clean Energy Transition, with international closure date on 12 March 2026.

The co-financed partnerships of Pillar II of Horizon Europe respond to a logic of thematic consultation around great challenges and shared priorities. Its management is channelled through secretariats constituted ad hoc in each association and allows to articulate transnational calls focused on areas especially sensitive for the future of Europe. In this case, the included programs focus on relevant areas such as sustainable water management, agroecology, future food systems and the transition to clean energies.

Public support for Spanish entities in the European ecosystem

The CDTI calls for Eurostars-3 and co-financed partnerships focus on supporting Spanish companies in their R&D internationalization processes in areas of special relevance to competitiveness, sustainability and technological transition and on strengthening Spain’s position in the main instruments of transnational technological cooperation. The public support for Spanish companies that succeed in positioning themselves successfully in international calls implies strengthening their capacity to integrate into consortiums of excellence, to access border knowledge, to share development with partners from other countries and to position themselves in technological segments of high strategic value, converting the international presence into real capacity of execution and, therefore, into effective innovation, investment, qualified employment and competitiveness.

In a context in which innovation is increasingly articulated through international networks, complex value chains and scientific-technological alliances between countries, participation in European and multilateral programs constitutes a decisive lever to scale knowledge, share risks, attract talent and accelerate the arrival on the market of solutions with high added value.

Profile of the announcement

The announcement has two deadlines for the submission of applications:

• For the projects approved in the ninth call for proposals of the Eurostars-3 (CoD9) programme and the calls for proposals of Water4All, Agroecology and FutureFoodS, it will begin on 18 March 2026 and end on 27 March 2026, at 12:00 noon, peninsular time.
• For the projects approved in the 10th call for proposals of Eurostars-3 (CoD10) and the call for proposals Clean Energy Transition (CETP) will begin on July 6, 2026 and end on July 17, 2026, at 12:00 noon, peninsular time

Grants shall be granted under the direct grant modality, with a maximum amount to be determined on the basis of the actual eligible cost of the project and budgetary availability, generally respecting a maximum intensity limit of 70% of eligible costs.

In the event that there is not sufficient availability to finance all projects with this percentage, the intensity can be adjusted, setting a maximum of 60% for small businesses, 50% for medium-sized businesses and 40% for large businesses. Furthermore, in the projects of the Eurostars-3 programme, the maximum aid may not exceed EUR 400,000 per beneficiary.

More information on the call for applications available on the CDTI Innovation website:

https://www.cdti.es/ayudas/eurostars-3-2026-cod9
https://www.cdti.es/ayudas/partenariados-pilar-2-sera-2026-1

CDTI Innovation

The Center for Technological Development and Innovation, CDTI E.P.E. It is the innovation agency of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, whose objective is the promotion of technological innovation in the business environment. The mission of the CDTI is to ensure that the Spanish business fabric generates and transforms scientific and technical knowledge into globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth. In 2025, within the framework of the Strategic Plan 2024-2027, the CDTI provided more than 2 billion euros of support to Spanish companies and startups.

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