en.Wedoany.com Reported - CDTI Innovación, the national innovation agency under Spain's Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Miciu), has announced in advance the Innterconecta STEP 2026 call, offering €138 million in subsidies for collaborative R&D projects in digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnology. The call will open in October 2026.
Innterconecta STEP is a funding programme by CDTI Innovación that supports business-led collaborative R&D projects focused on key strategic technologies identified by the European Strategic Technology Platform (STEP). STEP was established under EU Regulation (EU) 2024/795. The subsidies for this call are co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through Spain's ERDF 2021-2027 Multi-Regional Programme.
Projects must focus on one of STEP's three technology areas. Digital technologies include those related to the Digital Decade 2030 strategic plan, covering artificial intelligence, advanced computing, cybersecurity, microelectronics, and semiconductors, among others. Clean and resource-efficient technologies align with the net-zero industrial goals defined by the Net-Zero Industry Act, including renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen, and green industry. Biotechnology serves as a horizontal driver of health, industrial, and resilience development.
Compared to the 2025 call, the 2026 call includes the Balearic Islands in the eligible regions for the first time and sets aside a €10 million dedicated budget reserve for projects in women's health, channelling R&D capacity into this historically under-researched area.
The €138 million budget is expected to be distributed across nine participating autonomous communities, with Galicia receiving the largest allocation. Regional distribution figures remain estimates and may be adjusted before the official call launch based on the final availability of ERDF funds in each region.
The 2026 call follows the structural framework of the 2025 call, using a competitive application process. Subsidy intensity can reach up to 65% of the eligible budget for large enterprises, 75% for medium-sized enterprises, and 80% for small enterprises, depending on whether the activity qualifies as industrial research or experimental development.
Eligible project budgets must range between €1 million and €4 million, with a minimum of €175,000 per participating company.
Consortia may consist of 2 to 6 companies, which do not need to have independent legal personality, but must include at least one SME and at least two entities from eligible regions. Consortia must subcontract at least 10% of the eligible budget to knowledge generation centres and sign an internal agreement before submission to govern their operation, with one company acting as coordinator or representative to CDTI.
2025 marked the first Innterconecta STEP call, with results recently announced. The 2025 call closed in June 2026, approving 100 consortium projects involving 388 entities, with total approved subsidies of €146.9 million, representing 98% of the available budget. By the time the 2026 call is launched, the programme will have been consolidated following its first edition.
