The Diplomat
ICEX-Invest in Spain is going to allocate up to three million euros to foreign companies that invest in research and development in Spain throughout 2022.
To that end, the investment service of ICEX Spain Export and Investment, the public and Business entity chaired by the Secretary of State for Trade, has launched the 2021 call for the Investment Program for Foreign Companies in R&D Activities, whose application period will be open until November 12, 2021. This edition has a total economic allocation of up to three million euros, which is one million more than the previous call.
With this program, ICEX-Invest in Spain aims to promote the development of new R&D activities by foreign capital companies that want to establish themselves in Spain or those already established that intend to continue investing in research and development. The aid granted will be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Since its inception, this program has supported more than 260 projects, has had an impact on more than 2,600 highly qualified employees and has mobilized 96 million euros in investment.
The maximum amount of aid per beneficiary is 200,000 euros, as they are subject to the miminis regulation, which regulates aid from European Union Member States to companies whose amounts are insufficient to have to be brought to the attention of the European Commission and may not exceed 200,000 euros during any period of three consecutive fiscal years. The amount depends on the size of the company and the nature of the project: it ranges from 25% for experimental development by large companies to 80% for experimental development projects carried out by a small company in effective collaboration with other companies or with a research organization.
Grants will be non-refundable for personnel costs, costs of instruments or materials, buildings or land, acquisition of patents or licenses, or other indirect costs that may be linked to the selected project. The activities to be supported must be carried out between January 1 and December 31, 2022 in the autonomous communities of Andalusia, the Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencia, Extremadura, Galicia or Murcia.
In addition to foreign companies, joint ventures in which at least one of them is of foreign capital can also benefit from the aid, without it being necessary for these groupings to have legal personality. For the purposes of this call for proposals, a foreign capital company is understood to be a company with a foreign direct investment (FDI) participation in its capital of 10% or more, and FDI is considered to be that carried out by a legal entity domiciled abroad or by a natural person not resident in Spain.
