Innovation is gaining strength in the Spanish economy as a whole. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Spain has recorded three consecutive years of investment growth in RDI, and a higher rate of growth than nominal GDP.

Turnover in high and medium-high technology companies was up 6.2% in 2017 and Spanish exports increased by 8.5%.

Source: INE.

Advantages of investing

in Spain’s RDI ecosystem

Tax deductions and subsidies for RDI activities

Surge in open innovation, led by major corporations

Growing innovation ecosystem: increase in patent registrations

Favourable environment for recruiting talent: Social Security contribution discounts

Secure environment for intellectual property protection

Leader in use of open data

R&D ecosystem

In Spain there is a wide network of Centers, Technology Parks and Universities that promote innovation in the country.

Source: FEDIT, APTE

Open to

business innovation

The Spanish market is very receptive to business innovation.

According to the 2019 European Innovation Scoreboard, Spain scores high in sales impact/sales of new-to-market and new-to-firm innovations, which measures the turnover generated by new products and products being ranked second in Europe.

Business has contributed decisively to R&D, with an 8.2% increase in investment. Substantial investments by multinational companies established in Spain account for 38.4% of total business assets. Public investment is recovering, and last year saw a 3.3% increase.

Companies with R&D centres

see all companies

GKN Automotive

United Kingdom / Automotive & Mobility

British company GKN Automotive, which specialises in the design and manufacture of propulsion systems for the automotive industry, has joined a European R&D project to develop a more efficient and sustainable ...

Kerry

Ireland / Agrifood

Irish company Kerry, which specialises in taste and nutrition, has officially opened its Southern Europe Innovation Centre. Located in Barcelona, where the multinational has had a commercial office since ...

Rovensa Group

Portugal / Agrifood

Portuguese group Rovensa, a world leader in sustainable solutions for agriculture, is setting up a research unit on biological solutions in Spain with Tradecorp International. In collaboration with the ...

HPE

USA / ICT

HPE opens Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence in Spain. In April 2022 Hewlett Packard Enterprise opened its new Global Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data in Madrid. ...

Danone

France / Agrifood

The French multinational DANONE chose Spain 25 years ago to locate its International Technological Innovation Centre, also known internally as Sitex. This is the company's only research centre with a full-scale ...

Antaisolar

China / Renewable energy

Antaisolar will open its first R&D centre outside China in Spain in August 2022. The centre, which will be staffed by senior personnel focused exclusively on R&D, as well as experts who have spent their ...

Vodafone

United Kingdom / ICT

Vodafone is the second largest telecommunications operator in the world and opened its European R&D Centre in Malaga in January 2022 as part of its digital expansion strategy. With an investment of 225 ...

HUAWEI

China / ICT

Asian giant Huawei Technologies opened its first research unit in Spain in December 2020, in collaboration with the Valencian University, Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). The unit focuses its ...

IKEA

Suecia / ICT

The Swedish giant IKEA has once again chosen the Spanish market to drive its transformation, by opening a Digital Innovation Centre in Madrid to explore and promote solutions that increase its digital ...

Google

USA / ICT

Its abundance of talent, startups, accelerators and incubators, and its broad technological ecosystem have led Google to choose Malaga as the destination to create a centre of international excellence ...

Altran

France / ICT

Altran is a world leader in engineering services and R&D and has developed a number of projects in Spain including ECOSAT-2, a stratospheric solar balloon for communications, earth observation and critical ...

ArcelorMittal

Luxembourg / Other industries

The steel giant ArcelorMittal has 11 production centers and three R&D centers in Spain, two in Asturias focusing on iron and steel processes and one in the Basque Country specializing in thin slab and ...

Bayer

Germany / Life Sciences

With its innovative solutions, Bayer is responding to global challenges in healthcare and the need to safeguard a sufficient supply of food. In the health area, clinical studies are being conducted in ...

Capgemini

France / ICT

Capgemini announces the opening of an Applied Innovation Centre in Spain for the purpose of accelerating business innovation processes in collaboration with customers, startups, partners, universities ...

Eventbrite

USA / ICT

Eventbrite has developed an events management and ticket sales website. Its headquarters are in the United States. The company has a technological development center in Spain. This is the company's first ...

Dynatrace

Austria / ICT

In 2019 this company, founded in Austria, opened a software laboratory that began with 50 employees of 16 nationalities. It is located in the Torre Glòries, and Barcelona was chosen because it is one of ...

Carrefour

France / Agrifood

Carrefour, a multinational distribution chain of French origin, is considered to be the leading group in Europe and occupies third place in this sector at the global level. It is clearly in favor of digital ...

Siemens

Germany / ICT

Siemens AG, the German multinational, has a MindSphere Applications Innovation Center specializing in the development of innovative digital solutions for the renewable energies sector and an Applications ...

Alter Technology Tüv Nord

Germany / ICT

Alter Technology Group, a company belonging to the Tüv Nord Group, is the result of the union of five leading European companies in engineering services, provisioning and testing of components and electronic ...

Deloitte

USA / ICT

Spain has been chosen by Deloitte to open its fifth robotics center and its second in Europe, after the ones already operating in the United States, Mexico, Czech Republic and India. The objective of the ...

Amazon

USA / ICT

Amazon, the retail giant, opened its first Tech Hub, or software development center, in Madrid in 2016. Then in 2018 it chose Barcelona to install a R&D center for artificial intelligence, machine learning ...

Cien Inc.

USA / ICT

Cien is a company specializing in artificial intelligence established in mid-2016 in Miami. After closing an initial round of seed money financing valued at a million dollars, the start-up decided to set ...

3M

USA / Automotive & Mobility

3M is an American multinational company dedicated to researching, developing, and marketing diversified technologies, offering products and services to industrial, automotive, energy and chemicals sectors. ...

Accenture

Ireland / ICT

Accenture, prestigious Irish consultancy company that earns more than 60% of its income from innovation. Part of the global innovation center network, Accenture has 5 innovation and technology centers ...

Ciklum

Ukraine / ICT

Ciklum, an ICT company based in Ukraine, is a global software engineering and technology partner for many Fortune 500 companies and for organizations that are currently expanding strongly around the world. ...

ITRS Spain

United Kingdom / ICT

ITRS is a British company that develops software for the financial sector. This company's technology creates operational resilience for companies in demanding environments by safeguarding their IT properties ...

Thales

France / ICT

The French electronics firm Thales will incorporate 5,000 new professionals all over the world in order to focus the business toward artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, as indicated by the company ...

Fujitsu

Japan / ICT

Spanish financial institutions, known worldwide for their competitiveness and technological innovation, have for over 50 years meant that companies like Fujitsu view Spain as a place to develop technological ...

HP

USA / ICT

HP manufactures and markets hardware and software in addition to providing support services for IT. Already in 2014 the company installed its headquarters for the 3D printer business in its R&D center ...

BSD Enterprise

Mexico / ICT

BSD Enterprises is an international ICT company with over 1,800 employees in Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, Chile and Spain. In 2010 BSD arrived in Spain, which it chose to be the base for European ...

Celgene -Bristol Myers Squibb Company

USA / Life Sciences

Celgene is an international biopharmaceutical company committed to the discovery, development and marketing of innovative therapies designed to treat cancer and other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases ...

Eli Lilly and Company

USA / Life Sciences

This North American pharmaceutical company has been in Spain since 1963 and is present in all five continents although it only has R&D centers in six countries, including Spain. The R&D center in Alcobendas, ...

Boeing

USA / Aerospace

Boeing Research & Technology-Europe (BR&T-Europe) has its headquarters in Madrid near the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport and also has a comprehensive presence in the United Kingdom and Germany; the ...

Ericsson

Sweden / ICT

Ericsson is a Swedish company that undertakes activities with the latest technology and intensive R&D into 5G technology, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT). The Madrid center is ...

Air Products

USA / Chemical industry

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is an American international corporation whose principal business is the sale of gases and chemicals for industrial uses. In 2014, Barcelona joined the Air Products group ...

DOW

USA / Chemical industry

The Dow Chemical Company is a US chemical industry corporation. In June 2011 it opened its global water technology development centre at Dow facilities located in Tarragona, Spain. The Global Water Technology ...

Exide Technologies

USA / Automotive & Mobility

Exide Technologies is a US company that has a Product Development Technology Center for its European Automotive division located in Azuqueca, Spain. It specializes in materials analysis, the design and ...

Faurecia Automotive España

France / Automotive & Mobility

Faurecia Automotive Spain is a subsidiary of the French automotive company and is a world leader in automobile technology. Faurecia provides innovative solutions to the challenges of the automobile sector ...

GSK

United Kingdom / Life Sciences

GSK has 15,000 researchers worldwide distributed in 18 research centers, of which three are located in Spain: the headquarters of GSK Spain located in the Madrid Technology Park (PTM) in Tres Cantos, the ...

Henkel

Germany / Chemical industry

Henkel operates all over the world with leading innovations, brands and technology in three business areas: adhesive technologies (adhesives, sealants and special coatings), beauty care (cosmetics and ...

Hero

Switzerland / Agrifood

Hero develops major scientific programs in collaboration with the leading research centers to meet the consumer's needs, and has become one of the largest food groups. In its center in Murcia it has constructed ...

Janssen Farmaceutica

Belgium / Life Sciences

Janssen is a pharmaceutical company focusing on research and belongs to the Johnson & Johnson Group, one of the most diverse and firmly established multinational companies in the health sector, employing ...

Mahle

Germany / Automotive & Mobility

As one of the top 20 providers worldwide and a leading global ally in development for the automobile and motor industry, MAHLE offers a unique and exceptional capacity for systems in the area of engines, ...

MSD

USA / Life Sciences

MSD Spain occupies first place in clinical research activities in Europe, and third worldwide. This pharmaceutical company focuses on innovation and scientific excellence to provide vaccinations, medicines ...

Nestlé

Switzerland / Agrifood

Nestlé Research has the largest private network of R&D in nutrition worldwide, with 23 research centers distributed all over the world, employing a total of 3,900 people. The main lines of research are ...

Novartis

Switzerland / Life Sciences

Novartis is a multinational company dedicated to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. This Swiss pharmaceutical company has a Clinical Development R&D Center in Spain consisting of a team of ...

Omron

Japan / Other industries

Omron's main business is the manufacture and sale of components, equipment and systems for industrial automation, but it is better known for its electronic medical equipment, including digital thermometers, ...

Resilux Iberica Packaging

Belgium / Other industries

RESILUX's main business is the production of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) preforms and bottles. RESILUX's R&D centers are continually seeking ways to improve quality, increase the barriers to PET, ...

Roche

Switzerland / Life Sciences

Hoffmann-La Roche is a Swiss company dedicated to the pharmaceutical industry. The company is known under the brand name “Roche” in all its segments and healthcare lines for medicines and other products ...

Sany Heavy Energy

China / Renewable energy

In 2018, the Sany Heavy Energy Group from China, a world leader in the manufacture of capital goods and heavy machinery for civil engineering works, chose Pamplona (Navarre) as the venue for its European ...

Schweppes Suntory

Japan / Agrifood

In 2016, the non-alcoholic drinks company Schweppes Suntory España presented an upgrade of its Technology Development Center located in Tordera (Barcelona), in which it has invested 4 million euros over ...

Thyssen Group

Germany / Other industries

A German iron and steel company, and the most important in the country involved in smelting and forging steel. The German multinational Thyssenkrupp has transformed the RDI plant in Gijón into a world-renowned ...

Valeo

France / Automotive & Mobility

Valeo is an automobile supplier and partner for automobile manufacturers around the world. As a technology company, they design innovative solutions for smart mobility with particular attention to intuitive ...

Vossloh AG

Germany / Other industries

Vossloh AG is a German company devoted to constructing rail vehicles and infrastructure elements. In 2016 it was acquired by the Swiss company Stadler Rail AG which renamed it Stadler Valencia. It is a ...

Cutting-edge

open innovation

Spain stands out in open innovation initiatives. Major Spanish corporations work in a wide range of industries.

From ICT to energy, finance and retail, they have the ability to combine the university’s educational and scientific efforts with the business ecosystem, since most of them have their own startup programmes.

The Spanish public-private cooperation programme Open Innovation 4.0 won the EC’s 2018 European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) prize for Open Innovation.

In 2018 the Spanish company Acciona won the 'Open Innovation Innovative Approach Award' granted by the EC’s Startup Europe Partnership (SEP), which acknowledges the company's efforts to develop innovation in partnership with startups in its I'mnovation programme.

Due to this and government support,

Spain is regarded as a favourable environment for promoting

knowledge and competitiveness

Talent

Find out more

Research Talent

Spain has talent devoted to innovation. 215,713 people participated in R&D activities in Spain in 2017, 133,195 of these being researchers. This represents an increase of 6,500 over the previous year, when R&D investment by companies was up 8.3%.

Favourable environment for hiring talent

Spain provides a favourable environment for hiring talent, by offering companies a 40% discount in Social Security contributions for common contingencies to all research staff that work solely on RDI during the time they are at the company.

Researchers / Total

Date: 2017

In figures: 133,213 people

Staff employed / Total

Date: 2017

In figures: 215,745 people

What we can do
for your startup

Download

the Starting up in Spain Guide

All you need to know about the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Spain.

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Programme

Rising UP in Spain

Rising UP in Spain is a programme to help foreign startups set up in Spain, hand in hand with a local partner.

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FINANCE

Leaders in Europe

Spain ranks fourth among countries in the European Union that receive most European funds for innovation projects. Private funding has also practically doubled.

As a result of Spain’s leadership in science and innovation in Europe, the country has received 43 million euros in projects financed by Horizon 2020, and is the first country to win these grants in the last two awards.

Source: Ministry of Science and Innovation

Aids and incentives

Taxation

Spain has an advantageous tax system for RDI thanks to tax deductions established by law for this type of activity, which is an incentive that multinationals rate highly when setting up their RDI in the country (Multinationals in Spain study, Business Climate in Spain survey, Nov. 2018). The importance of SMEs in RDI private investment is especially noteworthy.

Find out more

Public funding for RDI:

The Industrial Technology Development Centre (CDTI) offers a wide range of subsidies and loans for technology projects at competitive interest rates.

The National Innovation Company (ENISA) funds SMEs with up to 1.5 million euros in participation loans and with no guarantee required.

The public organization RED.ES promotes programmes to foster the digital economy, innovation, entrepreneurship and support for SMEs by encouraging the efficient and intensive use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

The Ministry of Science and Innovation is responsible for promoting scientific and technical research, development and innovation, with various R&D-centred programmes.

Invest in Spain/ICEX has a programme that supports foreign companies with up to 200,000 euros for investments, having a major R&D component and a competitive bidding procedure.

The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public institution in Spain devoted to scientific and technical research and one of largest in the European Research Area. It is attached to the Ministry of Science and Innovation through the General Secretariat for the Coordination of Scientific Policy. Its mission is to promote, coordinate, develop and disseminate scientific and technological research with a multidisciplinary focus in order to advance knowledge and economic, social and cultural development, and to train staff and advise public and private bodies in these areas.

We finance
your R&D project in Spain

Programme

INNOVA Invest

Programme financed by de Recovery Transformation and Resilience Plan to support Foreign companies to settle R&D Projects in Spain

Find out more

Program

Smart Technology Fund

Investment programme for foreign companies in R&D activities

Find out more

Testimonials

of Smart Technology Fund

See all the testimonials

OP Technical Centre SL

Joaquim Antao Commercial and Technical Manager

Extremely comprehensive support that offered excellent assistance in an R&D project from beginning to end (studies, validation, product start-up). This support is also adapted to up-and-coming and recently established companies.

Piher

Mikel Larrazabal Head of Finance

This was a very important subsidy for a new line of research and development that enabled us to start promoting the commercial use of PIHER products for the medical sector.

Protecting

intellectual property

The Spanish legal framework offers investors all the necessary guarantees to ensure the protection of their patents, trademarks and designs.

In a business environment where intangible assets are a significant part of a company's capital, and are directly linked to its ability to obtain funding and returns on their RDI investments (CTC: Patent Box, section in the business guide on tax incentives), it is essential to ensure a favourable environment to protect industrial development. Intellectual property is key to innovation growth.

An example of the Spanish government’s commitment to reinforcing this environment is the Carlos Fernández-Nóvoa Chair of Innovation and Industrial Property, which was created as a result of the collaboration between two bodies at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism: the EOI Business School and the Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office (OEPM).

The Spanish Patents and Trademarks Office (OEPM)

is a leader in innovation, along with the EU's Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the offices in Chile and Singapore.

World Trademark Review (WTR).

Spanish patent applications in Europe

Patent applications (Units)

The OEPM is renowned for streamlining its processes and for facilitating online registration of trademarks and designs through its website.

This has resulted in four consecutive years of increases, according to the OEP's 2019 Annual Report. The study indicates that this increase confirms a clear upward trend in patent applications from Spain, much higher than the average for the 38 member states of the European Patents Office, which was 3.8% in 2018.

Patent applications filed by Spain at the European Patents Office (OEP) was up 6.3% in 2018 compared to the previous year.

Leader in

open data

Spain is the second leading European country in open data after Ireland, according to the Open Data Maturity in Europe 2019 on www.europeandataportal.eu

For the fifth consecutive year, Spain features for having an advanced open data strategy with 90% capacity.

The website also ranks Spain as a model for good practices in open data in its Analytical Report 13: Open Data best practices in Europe’s Top Performers (April 2019).

The consulting company Capgemini Invent also ranked Spain second in its “Open Data Maturity Report in Europe in 2019”.

Open Data Maturity 2018
Scores per dimension, Top 3 Performers