The Official Gazette of Aragon (BOA) publishes this Thursday the resolution of these subsidies that will allow the promotion of these projects, with a total investment of more than 26 million euros foreseen in our Autonomous Community. In the next few days, the resolution of the line of aid for business R&D aimed at circular economy projects will also be published.
Of the 15 projects included in the resolution published this Thursday, four are business initiatives linked to the pharmaceutical sector and total an investment of 8.87 million euros for their development. These include the Certest Biotect project for the design and production of RNA vaccines in Aragon; a Novaltia project, in collaboration with the San Jorge University Foundation, for the digital and sustainable transformation of the pharmaceutical supply chain; the research and characterization of a cohort and specialized nutritional intervention in patients with persistent COVID to establish a treatment to improve their quality of life, promoted by the company Solutex; and the integration of technologies 4. 0 technologies and research into new materials with antiviral properties in the new generation of hospital beds by Industrias Hidráulicas Pardo.
The other eleven remaining projects belong to the field of sustainable mobility and foresee a total investment of 17.3 million euros for their development. The company Carbotainer focuses its project on hydrogen storage as an alternative to current fuel tanks, optimizing space in vehicles and improving mobility; Algontec promotes a set of actions focused on sustainable mobility through the incorporation of biomaterials and processes; Magna Automotive Spain will see its experimental development project aimed at improving mobility and making it more sustainable; and Arcelormittal Tailored Blanks Zaragoza will receive a grant for a manufacturing line for a 100% electric vehicle battery box cover.
In addition, Chargevite Energy and Epic Power Converters are collaborating in the development of an intelligent autonomous bidirectional energy transfer system for widespread implementation in the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors.
Encouraging collaboration
Among the grants awarded in the field of sustainable mobility are three business projects developed in collaboration with the Technological Institute of Aragon (ITAINNOVA), synergies -both between companies and research institutes- that this call for grants has encouraged. One of the initiatives driven together with ITAINNOVA is promoted by the company Airtex Products and focused on research in electrical/electronic actuation and regulation systems for their implementation in efficient auxiliary systems; the second, called “SmoothBearing” is carried out together with Fersa Bearings and Fersa Innova; and with Valeo Térmico it collaborates in the development of new products and processes for the thermal management of electric and hydrogen vehicles.
In addition, the University of Zaragoza is collaborating with SMR Automotive Systems Spain on the MINIMO project, the company’s commitment to the future of rear-view mirrors; and two other investments are driven by companies in collaboration with the AITIIP Foundation which, together with Thermolympic, promotes the design and development of new, more sustainable manufacturing processes and the definition of recycling processes for plastic waste from the automotive sector, and together with Celulosa Fabril, Moontech Industrial Solutions and Instalaciones y Montajes del Ebro Alegre Melero collaborates in another project focused on intelligent and sustainable urban mobility.
The Department of Economy, Planning and Employment has called this year these grants for R&D business projects in sustainable mobility, pharmaceutical sector and circular economy after the good results of the first call of this type launched in 2019. Then, the grants were directed exclusively to initiatives linked to the development of the electric vehicle, subsidizing nine different projects that have generated an investment of 53.9 million euros in our Autonomous Community.
