European Commission finances national innovation in Environment, BIOECONOMY and Culture with 27.7 M€

• Portugal leads 3 of the 66 approved projects
• Of the 100 national entities with approved projects, 19 capture European funding for the first time
• 24 M€ for projects in the area of ​​Environment and Bioeconomy
• Portugal raised 2.4% of the funding available in both tenders

The European Commission allocated 27.7 Million Euros (M€) to 100 Portuguese entities that applied for Horizon Europe competitions aimed at funding Horizon Europe Cluster 6 projects: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment and the Cluster 2 of Horizon Europe: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society. Three projects are coordinated by national entities (IST-ID, Portuguese Company of Marine Cultures and University of Coimbra). In Portugal, clusters 2 and 6 are monitored by the National Innovation Agency (ANI), within the scope of the PERIN network.

Horizon Europe Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

In total, 199 proposals were submitted, of which 57 were approved (success rate of 28.6%, in line with the European average), corresponding to 2.4% of the available funding. Of the 84 entities participating in the approved projects, 15 are participating for the first time in European framework programs to support innovation. 38% of the funding in this area (23.9 M€) was raised by companies.

Two funded projects are coordinated by Portuguese institutions:

BioValue – Value of Biodiversity in Spatial Policy and Planning leveraging multilevel and transformative changes. Led by the Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico for Research and Development (IST-ID), it aims to protect and increase biodiversity through spatial planning tools, environmental impact assessment and financial and economic instruments.

REALM – Reusing Agricultural Effluents to Unlock the Potential of Microalgae. Led by NECTON – Companhia Portuguesa de Culturas Marinhas, it intends to take advantage of nutrient-rich drainage waters from soilless farms for the production of microalgae, water treatment and even the capture of carbon dioxide.

Horizon Europe Cluster 2: Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society

The amount allocated is intended for nine innovative projects for the Culture, Education and Democracy sectors with the participation of 16 national entities. Four of these entities – Coliseu do Porto, Fórum Dança – Associação Cultural, FITEI – International Theater Festival of Iberian Expression and Medidata.net – Information Systems for Municipalities – made their debut in attracting funding in the European R&I framework programme.

In total, 152 proposals were submitted with national participation, of which 16 were selected for funding, corresponding to around 2.4% of the global funding available.

One of the projects is coordinated by a national entity:

In Situ – Innovation based on the location of cultural and creative industries in non-urban areas, which will study the practices, capabilities and innovative potential of cultural and creative industries in non-urban areas. It is coordinated by the Center for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra.

“These are results that consolidate the good national performance in the European framework programmes. Portuguese companies raised around 40% of national funding in Environment and Biotechnology, which is an expressive result of the growing business dynamics in this type of instrument. In the case of Culture, Education and Democracy, we found that the funding rate in this first year of Horizon Europe is, for the time being, triple that achieved in the first year of Horizon 2020 (previous framework programme). We also salute the 19 Portuguese entities that for the first time are raising European funding, demonstrating national scientific excellence. I could not fail to point out that there are three Collaborative Laboratories (CoLABOR, Associação Oceano Verde and Sustainable and Smart Aquaculture) on the list of entities that raise funding, which shows that they are active in raising funding for the projects they develop”, says Joana Mendonça, president of ANI.

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