H2020 Dashboard: Spain

With almost 80 billion euro for the period 2014-2020, Horizon 2020 is the EU's biggest programme to fund Research and Innovation. In this edition of Schuman's H2020 Dashboard we see how Spain has benefited from Horizon 2020. 

Spanish participation in the Horizon programme has improved from year to year, exceeding the goal established by the country at the beginning of the programming period: to reach 9,5% return on investment. Currently, the country achieved already the 10,1% of the return. Some numbers and rankings that illustrate the positive progress are:

• Spain is the first country on the EU28 leading H2020 projects (15,8% of H2020 projects are led by a Spanish entity). 
• Spain is the third country in terms of participation with 40.066 eligible proposals out of which 5.129 have been successful and obtaining 2.816 MEUR. 
• Spain is the fourth country on the EU28 in terms of return on investment.

The top Spanish beneficiary from H2020 is the "Spanish Research Council – CSIC" with 447 participations and 185,5 MEUR funding, followed by Tecnalia Foundation and the Politecnica de Catalunya University. It is important to highlight that the highest participation rate comes from the private sector, representing the 38% of the total participation, followed by the universities, with 19,5% share of the total Spanish participation. If we take a look to the private sector involvement, some of the front-runners are: Atos Spain, Indra, Airbus or Acciona.

When it comes to the regional dimension, Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country are the most active and successful regions participating in the programme, followed by Valencia and Andalusia. 

H2020 programme has been especially relevant for SMEs in Spain as the biggest return on investment is for them. More than 2.600 Spanish SMEs participated to date in H2020 projects receiving 753 MEUR.

Upcoming H2020 opportunities for Spanish organisations:

In 12 March 2019 applications will open for 13 energy efficiency topics, with total EU funding amounting to €93 million. The themes of the project proposals under these topics include smart innovations for buildings, sustainable energy skills in the construction sector, energy performance, assessment and audits, project development assistance and innovative financing. Applicants need to submit their proposals by 3 September 2019 and the results will be known by February 2020.

Post 2020

The negotiations to define the next framework program, Horizon Europe, is a priority for the Spanish Government, and according to the Minister of Science, Pedro Duque, the country will advocate to ensure that Horizon Europe will keep supporting SMEs and to strengthen synergies between European Structural and Investment Funds and Horizon Europe programme to respond to the challenges of less developed regions. According the Minister, the H2020 program is not only crucial for the funding it provides, but also for the scientific and technological exchange that it promotes among the different countries that participate in the programme.

How we can support you?

Through its office in Spain, Schuman Associates can offer overall support to Spanish entities with their bid strategy towards H2020. Schuman Associates can help you to turn your innovation idea into a success and benefit from H2020 through the entire process, from identifying the right opportunity to submitting and implementing your H2020 project.

If you want to take a look to H2020 Dashboards for Greece and Romania click on the links.

For more information please contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.