06 April 2026

The CDTI Innovation promotes Spain as an investment destination and location for multinational R&D

The CDTI Innovation, in collaboration with ICEX, has promoted the elaboration of the Spain 2026 Innovation Report, produced by the R&E Foundation, an initiative that analyzes the Spanish innovation ecosystem and its attractiveness for international investment in R&D
The report is officially presented on April 22 in collaboration with ICEX at its headquarters in Madrid, in a joint event that will bring together institutional representatives, directors of large multinational companies and those responsible for the Spanish scientific and technological ecosystem
In 2025, the CDTI channeled more than 2.375 billion euros in public funding to more than a thousand innovative companies, consolidating itself as the main agent for promoting and financing business R&D&I in Spain.

Boosting business R&D and attracting technological investment are key to Spain’s competitive growth

The Innovation Spain 2026 Report, which will be presented on April 22 at an event organized in collaboration with ICEX, certifies a unique moment for the Spanish economy, which is positioned as one of the most attractive destinations in the world for investment in R&D and the implementation of international innovation centers, a reality that CDTI Innovation has been promoting in its current strategic cycle 2024-2027 and that is now reflected in the sustained recognition of analysts and investors on a global scale.

According to the report, Spain has ceased to be only an attractive market to become a territory from which multinational companies develop innovation with global projection. Large companies from sectors as diverse as telecommunications, the pharmaceutical industry, artificial intelligence or cybersecurity have chosen our country to install R&D centers from which they operate for all of their international structures. This transformation responds to years of public policies to support innovation and an ecosystem that the CDTI, together with other agents, has helped to build and densify.

Human capital is one of the pillars of Spain’s attractiveness as a technological partner. The country has a scientific and research base of recognized international prestige, a wide-ranging university system and a growing critical mass of professionals with digital and STEM skills. The CDTI Innovation works actively so that this talent is directed towards high-value business R&D projects, connecting companies with the knowledge generated in universities and technology centers.

Spain also offers one of the most favourable tax incentives for R&D in the continent, which puts it at an advantage over other European destinations for technological investment. The CDTI complements that environment with its own financing instruments, covering the entire cycle of business innovation from research to market entry.

The report highlights the position of Spain as a benchmark or emerging pole in some of the sectors with greater projection: renewable energies and green hydrogen, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry, the aerospace industry and cybersecurity. The CDTI Innovation concentrates a significant part of its activity in these areas, through its specific calls and its participation in major European initiatives such as IPCEI.

Spain’s geographical position as a link between Europe, Africa and Latin America, its full integration into the European research and innovation area and its network of active trade agreements make it a strategic enclave for companies seeking to operate with global reach. The CDTI Innovation strengthens this positioning through its external network of CDTI-SOST offices, with presence in ten countries and coverage over more than fifty markets, and through its role as manager and promoter of Spanish participation in Horizonte Europa.

On the other hand, the dynamism of the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, with an increasing number of active startups and an investment in risk capital in sustained growth, completes a photograph that the report rigorously documents. The CDTI Innovation contributes to this ecosystem through INNVIERTE, its capitalization instrument, which acts as a reference investor in technology-based projects with potential on an international scale.

The Innovation Spain 2026 Report offers international site selection decision-makers solid and documented information and data to consider Spain as a priority location for their R&D centers, having the necessary conditions in talent, infrastructure, incentives, ecosystem and strategic position to guarantee the best results. The CDTI, as a central actor in the promotion of growth based on technological innovation and the financing of business R+D+I in Spain, is in the main position to accompany multinational companies that seek a reliable socio-country, with the necessary capacities and with an ecosystem of excellence in full expansion and international expansion.

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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