Andalucía TRADE will mobilise €88 million in business R&D funding in 2026
Andalucía TRADE has announced that it plans to mobilise €88 million in incentives for business R&D during 2026, thereby reinforcing support for industrial research and experimental development projects carried out in Andalusia.
The funding will be structured through two new calls for funding, one non-competitive and one competitive, alongside the new FAST Fund, endowed with €30 million for projects linked to strategic technologies.
1. Two new R&D calls during 2026
The bulk of the €88 million announced by Andalucía TRADE will be distributed between two incentive lines with different characteristics.
Non-competitive call
The first will be a non-competitive call endowed with €18 million, whose launch was announced for September 2026. This line will be aimed at promoting business research and development projects in Andalusia.
Competitive call
The second will have a budget of €70 million and will be competitive in nature. It is expected before the end of 2026 and will be aimed at larger-scale industrial research and experimental development projects.
These grants seek to support projects focused on the development of new products, processes or services, as well as the improvement of existing ones. The R&D calls may subsidise up to 50% of eligible investment, provided that the projects meet the established requirements and fall within the Smart Specialisation Strategy for the Sustainability of Andalusia, S4 Andalusia.
2. High demand in the previous call
The announcement of these new lines follows the high level of participation recorded in the previous non-competitive R&D incentive programme, whose application period ended on 30 June 2026.
This call attracted interest from 210 companies to develop 199 R&D projects, with approximately €92 million in mobilised investment and grant applications amounting to €60.83 million.
In addition, 80% of applicants participated in this public support instrument for the first time, with most of them being small businesses and micro-enterprises.
Andalucía TRADE also states that these applications are being resolved within an average period of five months, approximately one month less than the timeframe initially established.
3. FAST Fund: €30 million for strategic technologies
Alongside the R&D grant calls, Andalucía TRADE will introduce the FAST Fund during 2026, endowed with €30 million from its own funds.
This instrument will be aimed at projects linked to digital and deep technologies, biotechnology and clean technologies, as well as sectors considered strategic for European technological autonomy, including microelectronics, photonics, advanced computing and defence-related technologies.
One of its main new features is that it will also be able to facilitate access to public funding for companies that do not qualify as SMEs.
4. How to prepare for the new Andalucía TRADE R&D grants
For Andalusian companies developing industrial research or experimental development projects, preparing in advance for the upcoming calls may be particularly relevant.
It is advisable to begin defining in advance the technical scope of the project, its technological objectives, the planned budget, R&D activities and eligible costs, as well as analysing its alignment with the priority areas of S4 Andalusia.
In the case of the non-competitive call, having the documentation prepared may be particularly important, while for the future competitive call it will be necessary to pay particular attention to the quality and technological scope of the project.
Are you preparing an R&D project?
At Evolution Europe, we help companies analyse how their projects fit within the different Andalucía TRADE grants, review their eligibility and structure the technical and financial documentation required for the application.
If you are developing an industrial research, experimental development or strategic technologies project, our team can help you identify which funding instrument best suits your project and prepare the proposal for the upcoming calls.
