The CDTI Innovation resolves the call for Technological Centres of Excellence Cervera 2025 with 70 million in grant for 13 interregional R+D+I projects

The CDTI Innovation, the state agency of innovation of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, has published the final resolution of the call 2025 for grants for Technological Centers of Excellence Cervera to finance 13 strategic R&D programs developed in interterritorial cooperation by groups of between four and seven technological centers and whose objective is the development of innovative solutions to improve the competitiveness of the Spanish business fabric, promoting frontier scientific-technological capabilities and accelerating the transfer of knowledge to companies in areas considered priority for the competitiveness and strategic autonomy of Spain. Of the projects financed, in which 48 technology centres with 76 different operations participate, 4 correspond to priority Cervera technologies of a civil nature and 9 to dual-use technologies:

The call is endowed with 70 million, of which 50 are linked to the Industrial Technological Plan for Security and Defense and are destined to the financing of priority Cervera technologies of a dual nature, in areas such as advanced 5/6G communications, defense against asymmetric threats, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems-advanced mobility, advanced materials, quantum and digital technologies for industry 5.0, and 20 million to applications in the field of civil technologies that include the safe and healthy food chain and efficient and sustainable energy management.

In terms of regional distribution, by volume of funding received, the Valencian Community stands out (22%), followed by the Basque Country (20%) and Galicia (15%).

Regarding the leadership of the beneficiary proposals, the Valencian Community stands out, which occupies the first position with 4 proposals, and Castilla La Mancha with 2 proposals.

Evaluation 2019-2023 of the Technological Centers of Excellence Cervera program

The priorities of the program are aligned with the strategic vectors of the Strategic Plan 2024-2027 of the CDTI Innovation, in the field of promoting deep-tech and Spanish technological sovereignty in the framework of strengthening European industrial resilience. In particular, and according to the results of the evaluation report 2019-2023 of the Cervera Technology Centres of Excellence program, presented by the CDTI Innovation in May 2025, the program has been yielding positive results in the seven vectors of the Plan:

• Expansion of the innovative perimeter: 89% of the centers financed in the calls 2019-23 claims to have attracted “quite a lot or a lot” of new SMEs towards R&D projects, having awakened “opportunities to finance”.
• Growth based on R&D: 98% of the centers hired new research personnel and the global employment in R&D grew by 17%, reinforcing the vector of increase of the scientific-technological critical mass.
• Strengthening the ecosystem: the 50 centres of excellence created in 2019-23 comprised 231 collaborations, 77% of them interregional, demonstrating Cervera’s effectiveness as a network of territorial cooperation and advancing the demographic challenge outlined in the Plan.
• Transfer and chain TRL. The new call finances the TRL 3-6 section, which complements the rest of the CDTI instruments (venture builder, industrial scaling, Innvierte deep-tech) positioned in the section closest to the market and completing the value chain to complete with Cervera Centres the science-market pipeline.
• Disruptive innovation and autonomy: by focusing on AI, quantum, advanced materials or green energy, all technologies listed in the Plan as key technologies for Spanish sovereignty, the aid contributes to the European framework for reducing strategic dependencies.
• International cooperation; the Cervera centers add 56 leaderships and 334 participations in Horizon Europe in areas related to their projects, projecting Spanish R&D and maximizing community return.
• Financial sustainability: with absorption rates of 98% and cutoff notes higher than 80/100, the instrument shows solid demand and efficient management, attributes the Plan identifies as the basis of a sustainable direct financing.

Along the same lines, the Cervera program accredits direct and tangible impacts on the ecosystem:

• Scientific capabilities: 81% of the centers invested in laboratories and pilot plants, allocated 16.8 million to equipment, 84 patents and 11 spin-offs were registered and 80% opened new R&D lines.
• Business competitiveness: 96% expect improvements in the products of their client companies and 81% anticipate greater productive flexibility, effects that reinforce industrial productivity and the creation of quality employment.
• Inclusion and cohesion: 71% of the centers will continue to collaborate with their partners after the project, weaving stable networks that democratize access to state-of-the-art infrastructures.

These achievements demonstrate the validity of the Cervera model: public investment focused on networks of excellence that multiply talent, infrastructure and transfer to the company, accelerating the passage from the laboratory to the market and, consequently, the improvement in welfare, security and sustainability for citizens. Specifically, the investment in dual technologies consolidates the national capacity to protect critical infrastructures, develop surveillance systems and advanced cybersecurity and, at the same time, generate civil spin-offs in 5G, AI medical or green chemistry. The selected civil technologies directly address food security and the decarbonization of the energy system, two social and environmental priorities. The Cervera program, therefore, ensures that every public euro invested has a multiple return on quality employment, industrial resilience and quality of social and citizen life.

Profile of the Call for Proposals 2025

The call finances strategic research, development and innovation programs, developed in cooperation. The clusters must be composed of Technology Centers and/or Technology Innovation Support Centers of state level, which are registered in the register of centers created by Royal Decree 2093/2008, of December 19, which regulates Technology Centers and Technology Innovation Support Centers of state level and creates the Register of such Centers.

• Modality of aid: grant of lost funds of between 2 and 6 M€ per consortium, with execution of three or four years.
• Beneficiaries: groups of 4 to 7 Technology Centers or Technology Innovation Support Centers of state level with accreditation as Cervera Center of Excellence.
• Leadership of large companies or SMEs.
• Evaluation: criteria of scientific-technical excellence (40%), socio-economic and commercial impact (35%) and quality of cooperation and governance (25%); the DNSH (Do No Significant Harm) principle will be applied and the contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2030 Agenda) will be assessed.
• Calendar: start of activities in January 2026.
• Accompanying mechanism: the CDTI will make available to the consortiums advisory services for internationalization, transfer of results and search for complementary financing, in line with its vector of support services, mobilization and ecosystem stimulation.

Final resolution available in:
https://www.cdti.es/sites/default/files/2025-12/resolucion_definitiva_cervera2025_firmado.pdf

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 2024, within the framework of a new strategic plan, the CDTI provided more than 2.3 billion euros of support to Spanish companies and startups.

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