The public agency has taught, in front of 60 professionals, a cycle on sustainability for transport within the EU Research and Innovation Framework Program 2021-2027

The Aerópolis Business Center has hosted a conference, organized in collaboration with Andalucía TRADE and Andalucía Aerospace, to present the upcoming calls and possible collaborations on mobility of Cluster 5 of Horizon Europe (HE), the Research and Innovation Framework Program of the Union European for the period 2021-2027, as well as the next call for the Aeronautical Technology Program (PTA).

This initiative, in which the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), the OTRI Andalusia Network and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) have collaborated, has been aimed at representatives of universities, companies, centers and public organizations of research, technology centers, public administrations and other organizations.

In this way, a practical session was held, in which a total of 60 professionals from companies in the sector participated, where the most relevant calls from Cluster 5 referring to the ‘Mobility’ modality (includes Space) and its partnerships were presented ( ‘Clean Aviation’, sustainable aviation), with respect to all means of transport, as an instrument of the European Commission to finance R&D&i projects.

This is an initiative that the Andalusian public agency has organized to provide support and support in terms of sustainability to the aeronautical sector, an industry that is the spearhead of the community, and which once again sets a historical sales record in the month of January 2024, thanks to a bill totaling 476 million euros.

Specifically, the event has been developed through the area of mobility, one of the highest priorities within Cluster 5 of Horizon Europe, a framework program from which the European Union intends to contribute to the fulfillment of the commitments of the Paris Agreement, through a just transition towards a climate-neutral and resilient economy and society, with efficient use of resources, achieving greater industrial competitiveness in transport, new clean, safe and intelligent transport and mobility systems, as well as energy storage.

Funding and collaboration opportunities

The development of the program began with a presentation of the day by Rocío Muñoz, director of Business Development and Value Support of Andalucía TRADE; Juan Román, Managing Director of the Andalucía Aerospace Cluster; and Isabel González, head of R&D and communication at Aerópolis; moderated by Antonio Palanco, from Andalucía TRADE.

After that, the rest of the presentations took place, in particular on Financing opportunities, by Juan Francisco Reyes, from Cluster 5 -Mobility of Horizon Europe (HE); and after him it was the turn to present the Opportunities for technological collaboration with AIRBUS in Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking projects, by Antonio Hernández, from the Clean Aviation Chief Engineer department, at Airbus.

After the break, participants were also able to listen to the experience of participating in the Framework Program from those who have already developed it, such as Mª Ángeles Martín, CEO of Skylife Engineering; and Marta Botana, technician responsible for the INFINITE project, from the R&D department, at Titania.

Finally, the day concluded with the presentation of the Aeronautical Technological Program, by Raúl García, from the dual programs department of the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), and with the presentation of ‘Enterprise Europe Network: Opportunities for cooperation in calls for Cluster5 HE’, led by María Dolores Guillén, from Andalucía TRADE.

Andalusia’s commitment to the decarbonization of air transport

This action adds to the commitment by the Andalusian Government to make this industry an increasingly efficient and sustainable sector, so that it has been the first community to request its membership in the Alliance for the Sustainability of Air Transport (AST) to position the region in the face of one of the great challenges facing this industry, such as the decarbonization of production systems and air transport itself.

This is a pact recently established to respond to the challenge of environmental, economic and social sustainability in aviation, and is made up of large aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing, airlines, associations and employers related to this industry, operators of fuels, as well as with representation from the academic field, among other agents.

The organization of this action by Andalucía TRADE will be co-financed with funds from the European Union throughvia the P.O. ERDF of Andalusia 2021-2027, with a community contribution of 80%, or any other European Program that may co-finance this action.

Horizon Europe, transition to a sustainable future

The training session was carried out within the framework of Horizon Europe, the research and innovation (R&I) program of the European Union (EU) for the period 2021 -2027, which will be the fundamental instrument to carry out the policies of EU R&D&I. The general objective of the project is to achieve a scientific, technological, economic and social impact of EU investments in R&I, thus strengthening its scientific and technological bases and promoting the competitiveness of all Member States.

It is a plan designed with an investment mentality rather than as an exclusively financing instrument, and has planning that will help the EU make the transition to a prosperous and sustainable future, based on three pillars: Excellent Science, which through the European Research Council (ERC) it will finance research projects at the frontier of knowledge designed and directed by researchers; Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness; and Innovative Europe.

Specifically, the training action held in collaboration with Andalucía TRADE, is part of the second pillar, which pursues research into social challenges, will reinforce industrial technological capabilities and establish missions with ambitious objectives oriented towards major global challenges, such as health, climate change, renewable energies, mobility, security, digital, materials, etc.

These three pillars will be supported by a horizontal programme, expanding participation and strengthening the European Research Area (ERA), dedicated to helping EU Member States in their efforts to develop their national research and innovation potential, and especially, to those States with lower performance in R&I to improve their participation in Horizon Europe.