€5 million for space in Portugal - The Regional Programme for the Centre (Centro 2030) has launched a call for proposals.

The Regional Programme for the Centre (Centro 2030) has launched a call for proposals, with a budget of €5 million, to support business investment linked to the space sector.

The Regional Coordination and Development Commission of the Centre (CCDRC) explained that this call for tenders aims to expand funding and support opportunities for start-ups and business innovation projects, contributing to “increasing interactions between companies and the scientific and technological system and accelerating the processes of technological transformation and intensification”.

“The space sector is one of the priorities of the regional smart specialisation strategy with the greatest potential to assert the region internationally and promote the regional economy through the creation of high added-value products and services and skilled jobs with high salaries,” said CCDRC President Isabel Damasceno.

According to the CCDRC, this instrument aims to promote the creation or expansion of micro and small businesses by financing small business projects with strong links to the space sector in the DownStream (space to earth) or UpStream (earth to space) domains.

It aims to support investment projects in technologies associated with satellites, new materials, software and services in orbit (DownStream) or associated with telecommunications and navigation, software and earth observation systems, the Internet of Things, high-performance computing, data and cybersecurity, sensorisation, electronics and microelectronics or health (UpStream).

“The region already has significant potential in this sector, associated with its capacity to produce scientific knowledge and develop technology, as well as with the training of highly qualified human resources. However, the number of companies in the region specialising in the space sector is still small, and technology transfer between the scientific system and the regional business fabric is limited,” said the CCDRC.