- The Government cofinances and co-governs with the Basque Executive the plans, which mobilize a total of 32.8 million euros
- Denis Itxaso: “The Complementary Plans allow collaboration and networking between the different autonomous communities so that the contribution of each territory contributes to the common challenges of the country”
- The plans, which are funded by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, strengthen investments in research lines in which the Basque Country is very advanced
The Government of Spain is already allocating 18.8 million euros to the Basque Country to five Complementary Plans to promote R+D+I programs in different areas of knowledge. These plans are co-governed and co-financed between the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Basque Government. The five Complementary Plans, which are funded by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, strengthen investments in research lines linked to the Intelligent Specialization Strategy (RISTRES). In total, the five plans mobilize 32.8 million euros: 18.8 million euros from the Spanish Government and another 13.9 million euros from the Basque Executive. The government delegate, Denis Itxaso, visited today, together with the Basque Government’s Minister of Education, Jokin Bildarratz, the Physical Materials Center (in Donostia), which develops two of the Plans. The Department of Education oversees three of the plans and the other two depend on the Department of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment.
The Complementary Plans are a tool created by the Government for the implementation of research programs in strategic areas, co-governed and co-financed with the autonomous communities. “The Complementary Plans,” said Itxaso, “allow collaboration and networking between the different autonomous communities so that the contribution of each territory contributes to the common challenges of the country and to accelerate the implementation of transformative measures for our economy.” In addition, “these plans allow the efforts of the central administration, communities and European funds to be aligned with the key challenges that await us as a country and as a society”.
In total, eight Supplementary Plans are planned which will mobilise 444.8 million euros until 2025, of which the Ministry of Science and Innovation will finance 285.4 million euros, 64% of the total budget, and the CCAA the remaining 36%, with 159.4 million euros. In the case of the Basque Country, the Basque Government participates in five plans: Biodiversity (provides 395,650 euros and the central government 734,779 euros); Biotechnology applied to health (4.5 million euros and another 4.5 million euros from the central government); Quantum Communication (3,189,383 million euros and another 5,810,617 euros from the Spanish government); Renewable Energy and Hydrogen (1,269,460 euros and another 2,279,000 euros from the central government) and Advanced Materials (4,641 billion euros and 5,559,000 euros from the Spanish government).
Complementary Plan for Biotechnology Applied to Health
This program is oriented to the development of tools for diagnosis, prognosis and advanced or targeted therapies in personalized medicine. Euskadi has significant research capabilities in these areas, such as the Basque Resource for Electron Microscopy (BREM), an electronic cryomicroscopy platform (crioME) equipped with unique and disruptive technology for structural biology applied to personalized medicine.
Other strengths of the Basque system are the Biocruces Health Research Institute, at BIOEF; the Biophysics Unit of the UPV; Mondragon Eskola; Technological Centers AZTI, TECNALIA, TEKNIKER, and VICOMTECH, as well as at the CIC Biogune .
Complementary Quantum Communication Plan
This program aims to drive the development and implementation of quantum digital technologies. The objective is to create a high-security communication infrastructure in Spain, support the European quantum industry and promote a new industrial sector with new companies in the digital and cybersecurity fields. Quantum technology is a branch of quantum physics very present nowadays, such as in the mobile phone, GPS, watches, barcode reader or medical scanner.
The Basque Government launched in 2021 the Ikur 2030 Strategy, where quantum technologies constitute one of the four niches or strategic areas along with neuroscience, neutrionics or supercomputing and artificial intelligence. Next year San Sebastian will host IBM’s sixth quantum computer
Supplementary Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Plan
The Complementary Plan for Energy and Green Hydrogen proposes strategic actions that will be carried out in coordination with the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) to establish, incorporate and strengthen green hydrogen as a solution for the electrification of the energy system, as well as the decarbonization of transport and industry. Other lines of action include the generation of green hydrogen at low temperature from renewable energy and off-shore wind energy; the development of systems for the storage under pressure and supply of green hydrogen and the implementation of the National Center for Energy Storage Research.
Complementary Biodiversity Plan
This Program, called ‘Biodiversity Exploration, Analysis and Foresight: Possible responses to the 2030 sustainable development strategy in a scenario of global change’, aims to develop solutions that are focused on nature, and that take into account how anthropogenic activities affect it, to stop the biodiversity crisis while allowing the mitigation and adaptation of natural systems to climate change.
Supplementary Plan for Advanced Materials
This program aims to develop research networks to discover new, more sustainable materials, which will be used in batteries, electric vehicles and solar panels, among other technologies. In other words, it promotes research on materials with advanced functionalities for the new technological transformation. For example, the new physics that emerges in the 2D limit with a view to its applications or research in materials for energy, developing and integrating key innovative materials and processes in the energy transition towards a green and resilient economy.
The participation of Euskadi will focus on the areas of Information and Communication Technologies (materials for efficient manufacturing of electronic components, new concepts of storage and processing of information, optimized detection, etc. ), Mobility; and Habitat and Environment.