FINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOS

Their core work

FINEP is Brazil's national innovation funding agency, responsible for financing science, technology, and innovation across the country. In H2020, FINEP serves as Brazil's institutional bridge to European research programs — coordinating bilateral funding alignment, co-financing joint calls, and enabling Brazilian researchers to participate in EU consortia. Their involvement centers on aligning Brazilian and European funding streams, particularly in raw materials, circular economy, and resource security. They are not a research performer but a strategic funding body that makes cross-continental collaboration financially possible.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FINEP's H2020 involvement began with broad EU-Brazil science diplomacy through INCOBRA (2016-2019), focused on general policy dialogue, foresight, and opening cooperation channels. From 2016 onward, their focus narrowed sharply toward raw materials and circular economy through the ERA-MIN series, reflecting Brazil's strategic importance as a mineral-rich nation. The progression from ERA-MIN 2 to ERA-MIN3 shows deepening commitment to sustainable supply chains and critical raw materials substitution — a topic of growing geopolitical relevance.

FINEP is increasingly positioning itself as the key Brazilian counterpart for European raw materials research funding, making them essential for any consortium needing South American mineral resource expertise or co-funding.

How they like to work

FINEP participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with their role as a national funding agency joining multilateral frameworks rather than leading individual research projects. Their 47 unique partners across 23 countries reflect the large consortium sizes typical of ERA-NET Cofund actions, where many national funding agencies sit around the same table. Working with FINEP means gaining access to Brazilian funding streams and research networks, not to in-house research capacity.

Despite only 3 projects, FINEP connects to 47 partners across 23 countries — a reflection of the large ERA-NET consortia they participate in. Their network spans Europe broadly, with FINEP serving as the primary Brazilian node linking South American resources to European research coordination.

What sets them apart

FINEP is one of very few non-European national funding agencies actively embedded in H2020 ERA-NET actions. For any consortium targeting raw materials, mining, or circular economy that needs a Brazilian co-funding partner or access to Brazilian research institutions, FINEP is the institutional gateway. Brazil's position as a major producer of critical minerals (niobium, iron ore, rare earths) makes this connection strategically valuable for resource security projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ERA-MIN3
  Running until 2026, this is the latest iteration of the European raw materials research coordination network — directly relevant to EU critical raw materials strategy and supply chain resilience.
• INCOBRA
  The foundational EU-Brazil cooperation project that mapped bilateral research landscapes and opened policy dialogue channels, receiving the full EUR 198K in EC funding.
• ERA-MIN 2
  Six-year program (2016-2022) coordinating European and international research funding for metallic, industrial, and construction minerals.