CENTRO PARA EL DESARROLLO TECNOLOGICO Y LA INNOVACION E.P.E.

Their core work

CDTI is Spain's national innovation agency responsible for channeling public R&D funding to Spanish companies and coordinating Spain's participation in European research programs. Within H2020, CDTI primarily operates as an ERA-NET co-funder — pooling national budgets with other countries to launch joint calls in energy, environment, manufacturing, and food. They also run National Contact Point (NCP) networks that help researchers and companies access EU funding. CDTI does not perform research itself; it is the bridge between Spanish innovators and European funding instruments.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2014–2018), CDTI focused heavily on building NCP support networks across sectors — energy, security, transport, space, ICT — emphasizing best practices sharing, capacity building, and brokerage events. Their ERA-NET activity centered on offshore wind cost reduction and smart grids. In the later period (2018–2022), the focus shifted toward sustainability themes: circular economy, solar thermal electricity, geothermal energy, food systems, and funding synergies between national and EU instruments. The NCP coordination work receded as those networks matured, replaced by deeper thematic co-funding in green transition areas.

CDTI is moving from broad NCP coordination toward targeted co-funding in green transition sectors — circular economy, renewables, and sustainable food — making them an increasingly relevant partner for climate-aligned ERA-NET calls.

How they like to work

CDTI overwhelmingly participates rather than coordinates (52 of 57 projects), which reflects its role as a national funding body joining multi-country ERA-NET partnerships rather than leading research agendas. With 398 unique partners across 74 countries, they operate as a massive network hub — few organizations in H2020 connect to as many distinct partners. This makes them valuable not for technical expertise but for access to the Spanish innovation ecosystem and co-funding capacity.

CDTI has one of the broadest collaboration networks in H2020: 398 unique partners spanning 74 countries, reflecting their role in ERA-NET consortia that typically involve 15-30 national funding agencies each. Their geographic reach extends well beyond Europe into associated countries and international cooperation partners.

What sets them apart

CDTI is not a research performer — it is Spain's gateway for co-funding international R&D. For consortium builders, partnering with CDTI means accessing Spanish national funding that can be pooled into joint calls, effectively multiplying the budget available to researchers. They are one of the most active ERA-NET participants in Europe, and their involvement signals that Spanish companies and research groups will have a funded pathway into the project's results.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DemoWind
  EUR 1.05M contribution to this ERA-NET tackling offshore wind cost reduction — one of CDTI's largest single-project commitments and a multi-phase effort (DemoWind 1 and 2).
• SME-SEALING
  One of only 4 projects CDTI coordinated — a pilot scheme enabling countries to fund excellent SME proposals that narrowly missed H2020 selection via the Seal of Excellence.
• 3SST2015
  EUR 1.72M for European Space Surveillance and Tracking — CDTI's second-largest project by funding and an unusual operational security role outside their typical ERA-NET profile.