The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has published a call for grants, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, to support projects that contribute to promoting the sustainability and circularity of industrial and business processes. The Biodiversity Foundation will be in charge of the management of this call, in its capacity as a collaborating entity, with the aim of improving the competitiveness and innovation of the industrial fabric within the framework of a circular economy, which goes beyond the traditional linear production model. The call, aimed at the private sector, is open to social economy entities and groups of the above, owned by at least one SME, start-up or social economy entity. Foreign entities legally and validly constituted and that have an establishment or branch in Spain may also be eligible for the aid.

GRANTS OF UP TO €10M PER PROJECT

The call, endowed with 192 million euros, includes grants of between €150,000 and €10M for actions that substantially contribute to the transition to a circular economy: reduction of the consumption of virgin raw materials; eco-design and placing on the market of products made under its schemes; improvement of waste management; Digital transformation of processes through infrastructures and systems. R+D projects in the first three categories will also be eligible for these grants. The selected projects may be extended from the date of application for the grants until the following dates, depending on the amount allocated: 31 December 2023 (for projects with grants of between €150,000 and €400,000); 31 December 2024 (for projects with grants of between €400,000 and €2,500,000); and 31 December 2025 (for projects with grants of between €2,500,000 and €10,000,000). The deadline for submitting applications will remain open until January 23, 2023. The evaluation of the projects will be carried out on a competitive basis. The resolution of the call is expected by the middle of next year. These grants for the promotion of the circular economy 2022 within the framework of the RTRP are part of line of action 2 of the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation in the Circular Economy (PERTE in EC), of transversal actions in the company to promote the circular economy.