Programme name
Proyectos de Innovación en el Sector Pesquero y en la Acuicultura (IDF) - Innovation Projects in Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector (IDF)
Objective(s) and scope
Spain’s Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación, CDTI) participates in the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) as an intermediate body of the Spanish Programme, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 July 2021, which establishes the EMFAF, to finance the following types of projects:
- Innovation projects in the fisheries sector aimed at:
a. Improving the sustainable management of fishery resources.
b. Reducing the environmental footprint of fishing activities.
c. Developing and introducing new or substantially improved products and equipment, such as fishing gears, techniques or technologies that are more energy-efficient and/or selective.
d. Developing new or improved processes and techniques for waste management.
e. Implementing new or improved management and organisational systems to enhance safety and working conditions.
f. Introducing new working methods that incorporate innovative digital solutions.
g. Developing innovative methods and/or techniques to add value to fishery production, including product processing and marketing. - Innovation projects in aquaculture aimed at:
a. Developing technical and scientific knowledge in aquaculture farms, particularly to: reduce environmental impacts and improve impact assessment and climate-change adaptation; optimise space use, feeding and nutrition; promote the sustainable use of resources in aquaculture; improve process efficiency and resource use through circular-economy approaches; enhance animal health and welfare; improve food safety; foster new sustainable production methods; include genetic or physiological improvements in species; and strengthen traceability, among others.
b. Developing or introducing to the market new aquaculture species with good market potential, as well as new or substantially improved products, processes, or management and organisational systems for aquaculture operations.
Administering body
Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación (Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology - CDTI)
Financing value
The minimum eligible budget is EUR 175,000.
The company must finance at least 15% of the Project budget with its own resources.
Projects will be financed through a Partially Reimbursable Aid, consisting of a repayable amount and a non-repayable amount, subject to the availability of funds, covering up to 85% of the total budget approved by CDTI’s Board of Directors. The non-repayable amount will be up to 33%.
The applicable interest rate is the one-year Euribor, set on the date of approval of the aid by the CDTI Board of Directors, and it will apply exclusively to the repayable portion.
The company may request a repayment period of 10 or 15 years. Loan repayments will be made on a semi-annual basis. The first principal repayment will take place three years after the project’s midpoint, with a minimum of two years from its completion date.
Low capital (EUR 0-5 million)
Mid capital (EUR 5-50 million)
High Capital (EUR > 50 million)
Eligibility criteria (if available)
Beneficiaries of CDTI funding will be companies that are duly incorporated, have their own legal personality, and have their fiscal domicile in Spain. These companies may qualify as either SMEs or large enterprises.
Specifically, eligible entities for each line are:
- Innovation in the fisheries sector: companies engaged in extractive fishing, processing, and marketing. For companies in the processing sector, only SMEs are eligible.
- Innovation in aquaculture: companies in the aquaculture sector.
Projects should have a minimum duration of 12 months without exceeding 36. The projects should take place between the 1st of January 2021 and the 31st of March of 2029 and projects which start before the application is submitted are not eligible for financial support.
Subcontractors cannot account for more than 65% of the total project budget.
