Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism Launches €9 Million Grant Scheme for Innovative Business

International

The Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism has opened the 2025 call for applications under the Support Programme for Innovative Business Groups (AEI), with a total budget of €9 million.

Published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), the initiative aims to foster collaborative innovation and enhance the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Spain.

The funding is designed to promote cooperation between companies, technology hubs, and other players in the innovation ecosystem, focusing on projects that drive digitalisation, sustainability, and the transformation of the productive sector.

The programme includes three lines of funding:

· Line 1 – Covers structural expenses for Innovative Business Groups (AEIs) that have been established for less than four years.

· Line 2 – Funds "technical feasibility studies" aimed at defining future project proposals to be submitted under the following programmes:

· Line 3 of the AEI programme, which supports “Digital Technology Projects”

The European Union’s Horizon Europe framework programme for research and innovation (2021–2027)

Line 3 – Supports "Digital Technology Projects" that integrate knowledge and/or technologies promoting the digital transformation of participating companies. Eligible project types include:

· Industrial research activities

· Experimental development

· Organisational innovation

· Process innovation

Collaborative projects under this line can receive up to €400,000 in aid, provided they involve at least two AEIs or three or more SMEs conducting industrial research activities.

For more details on the AEI funding programme, applicants are encouraged to consult the Ministry of Industry and Tourism’s Aid Portal.