€300 million allocated by Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities to promote new financing facility with EIF supporting transfer of disruptive technologies in Spain

Valencia: The European Investment Fund (EIF), the arm of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) specialising in equity investments in SMEs and mid-caps, signed a cooperation agreement with the Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation (CDTI) to launch ‘Innvierte Deep-Tech Tech Transfer’. This is a new venture capital facility that will support the technology transfer ecosystem and deep-tech in Spain through investment in specialised funds. Innvierte Tech Transfer Deep-Tech is designed to strengthen Spain’s disruptive technology ecosystem, with a total volume of €353 million.

The signing of the agreement and the presentation of the instrument took place this morning in Valencia at an event presided over by the Minister for Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, with the participation of Pablo Millán, head of the EIF's Mandate Origination and Client Relationship Division for Southern Europe.

The facility’s objective is to seek highly disruptive projects in the deep science ecosystem, including at universities and research centres, that could produce innovations that have great impact on people’s lives and are strategic for the Spanish economy.

In addition to providing funding, the facility will support the selected projects along the entire value chain – from feasibility study to market launch.

‘The launch of venture capital instruments to strengthen Spain's innovation and deep-tech ecosystem is an example of how the EIB Group is boosting innovation and the creation of cutting-edge technology companies across Europe,’ said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño.

The Spanish Minister for Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, has highlighted the importance of the public commitment to the development of disruptive technologies in Spain: "We are an entrepreneurial state. We are a country where the benefits of our most innovative companies are deeply linked to the well-being of our citizens. And where progress transforms each of our territories".

EIF participation in the initiative will contribute to accelerating digitalisation and technological innovation, one of the EIB Group’s eight strategic priorities for the coming years. Supporting innovation and research in cutting-edge technologies, and their transfer to business models with high growth potential, is essential to ensure EU competitiveness and strategic autonomy.

Innvierte Tech Transfer Deep‑Tech

Based on the agreement signed between the CDTI and the EIF, the facility has been funded with €353 million to support the commercialisation of Spanish research and will help establish professional activity by technology transfer teams and deep-tech fund managers in the country.

The CDTI and the EIF will co-invest in specialised funds as limited partners (LP), although each will act on its own behalf and apply its own investment criteria.

The EIF will manage the call for expressions of interest in order to select specialised funds in accordance with the relevant eligibility criteria and procedures. These funds will channel the financing to technology transfer and deep-tech projects in Spain.

The EIF will also contribute €53 million, in addition to the €300 million committed by the MICIU through the CDTI, to the selected investment vehicles.

By incorporating venture capital as a lever for technological maturation, this new facility complements existing support programmes for innovative SMEs and expands the range of financial solutions managed by the CDTI. In its new strategic cycle 2024-2027, the CDTI is ramping up the promotion of Spanish innovation and targeting maximum socioeconomic impact and value creation based on knowledge and scientific research, to consolidate Spain’s position as an EU hub for innovation in disruptive technologies.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is part of the European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group). Its central mission is to support Europe’s microenterprises and SMEs by helping them to access finance. The EIF designs and develops venture and growth capital, guarantees and microfinance instruments that specifically target this market segment. In this role, it contributes to the achievement of key EU policy goals such as competitiveness and growth, innovation and digitalisation, social impact, skills and human capital, climate action and environmental sustainability.

In Spain, the EIB Group – which includes both the EIF and the EIB – signed €12.3 billion of new financing for more than 100 high-impact projects in 2024, helping power the country’s green and digital transition and promote economic growth, competitiveness and better services for its people.

The Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación (centre for technological development and innovation), creator of the Innvierte investment initiative in the form of a Spanish SICC fund, is the innovation agency of Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. Its goal is to promote technological innovation in the country and ensure that the Spanish business landscape can produce scientific and technical knowledge and transform it into globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive growth. In 2024, as part of a new strategic plan, the CDTI provided more than €2.3 billion of support to Spanish companies and startups.

Innvierte is an initiative to promote business innovation by supporting venture capital investment in technology-based or innovative companies. The programme is implemented through the closed-ended investment company Innvierte Economía Sostenible SICC S.M.E., S.A., which is self-managed and supervised by the Spanish Securities and Exchange Commission. The sole shareholder is CDTI Innovación. Innvierte is part of the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2021-2027 approved by the country’s Council of Ministers in September 2020. This strategy covers the objectives, reforms and measures to be taken in the RD&I domain to boost its growth and impact, and is one pillar of the Spanish government's RD&I policy for the coming years.

By April 2025, CDTI Innovación had used the Innvierte SICC fund to commit €2.183 billion to 57 investment vehicles that have invested in more than 602 companies, and had directly committed €632 million in 188 companies through its co-investment line.