Basque companies lead aid

Basque companies and entities have obtained 192.8 million euros in aid for innovation in the European Framework Program Horizon 2020 for the promotion of R&D and competitiveness, with the Basque Country standing only behind Catalonia (28%) and Madrid (24%) in absolute terms, but in the lead in relative terms. In the data corresponding to the period 2014-2015, echoed by the SPRI, the companies and entities of the Basque Country have managed to access 17.5% of the financing of the program for Spain, when the weight of the Basque economy compared to Spanish GDP is much lower, around 6%.

The Basque Country has led the way in aid for the areas of nanotechnology, biotechnology, and intelligent, ecological and integrated transport. 165 Basque entities, of which 118 are companies, have managed to access aid, and among them Tecnalia stands out with 78 projects, the University of the Basque Country with 22, or IK4-Tekniker with 11. In the group of companies, the Mondragon Group (5 projects), Aernnova (4) or Giroa (3). The return achieved among the companies has been 49%.

The European Commission has a total allocation of 80,000 million euros for the program in the 2014-2020 period, making it the largest public investment program in the world to promote R&D and competitiveness. In the state as a whole, 1,657 projects from 1,300 entities have obtained financing, with a total amount of 1,101 million euros. Spain leads among European countries in financing for SMEs, and is second in the areas of energy, nanotechnology and biotechnology.