The Board of Directors of the CDTI, Public Business Entity attached to the Ministry of Science and Innovation, has approved, in an extraordinary meeting, 4 new R&D projects, with a total budget of 2.2 million euros. The CDTI will provide 1.8 million euros to boost the R&D of companies that are developing projects with an impact on the COVID-19 health emergency.
In addition to the monthly meetings for the approval of projects and in response to the urgent measures adopted by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the CDTI has launched since April 8 the periodic celebration of extraordinary Councils. With this measure, the intention is to approve, in fast track or fast approval format, those most urgent projects capable of responding to the health emergency from business R & D & I.
The topics addressed by the first projects approved through this route are diagnosis, disinfection and care before COVID-19, developed by four companies in Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid. Three of the approved projects have the participation of public research centers and technology centers.
Specifically, the 4 recently approved projects contemplate very diverse technologies: design and development of an aerial robot for automatic disinfection of COVID-19 in areas of logistics activity; the protection of COVID-19 in construction materials; the development of a new methodology for the diagnosis and personalized treatment of infectious diseases, and the development of a new low-cost comprehensive health unit for the treatment of patients with respiratory emergencies.
Of the 4 participating companies, two are SMEs and one receives CDTI financing for the first time. The two projects developed by SMEs have availed themselves of the guarantee exemption thanks to the Red Cervera Technical Provisions Fund and R + D + I Projects provided for in Royal Decree-Law 8/2020, of March 17, on extraordinary urgent measures to face the economic and social impact of COVID-19. This fund has a nominal value of 147 million euros, which will make it possible to approximately affect aid worth 500 million euros.
In this sense, the CDTI maintains and reinforces its activity of helping innovative Spanish companies so that they can maintain strategic investments and qualified employment, especially at a time of great difficulty for companies. To do this, it continues to evaluate, on a continuous basis, the R & D & I projects presented by the companies and granting partially reimbursable grants and subsidies to those innovative developments that have been selected.
Operations co-financed with FEDER
In this extraordinary Council, one of the approved operations is co-financed with the 2014-2020 ERDF Spain Multi-Regional Operational Program, with a public contribution (CDTI + ERDF) amounting to 165 thousand euros.
The 2014-2020 ERDF Spain Multi-Regional Operational Program allows the CDTI to offer a non-reimbursable tranche of up to 33% to projects that are co-financed by this program, regardless of the size of the beneficiary.
