Portugal allocates 15 million euros to decarbonise aviation

Aviation

Portugal will allocate up to 15 million euros to research and innovation projects that contribute to aviation decarbonisation. This investment will be made under the memorandum of understanding between Portugal and the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking – CAJU signed on 18 March during the Clean Aviation Annual Forum 2025 in Brussels.

The memorandum of cooperation signed by the National Innovation Agency (ANI) and the Portuguese Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) representing the Portuguese State also establishes the creation of a Joint Technical Roadmap to identify investment opportunities to develop low carbon emission aircraft.

The CAJU will provide technical support to ensure the national programmes are aligned with the overall programme goals and Portugal will guarantee resources and funding instruments to support complementary projects to those funded by the CAJU.

For this purpose, during 2025, two notices will be available under the Compete 2030 programme:

• One for R&D projects in the field of sustainable aviation fuels, with a 6-million-euro allocation, to be launched in 2025

• One for R&D projects in the field of aeronautics, space, and defence, together with Canadian entities, with a 9-million-euro allocation, already launched and with bids running until October 2025.

In addition to these instruments, CAJU projects approved under Horizon Europe that have been excluded due to lack of sums, yet obtained the seal of excellence may also be supported under Compete 2030, thereby benefitting from a simplified evaluation process.

The Ministers of Economy Pedro Reis, Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, Education, Science and Innovation Fernando Alexandre, and Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho praised this initiative and reiterated their commitment to supporting research and innovation in aviation, fostering a more sustainable and efficient sector, following the National Roadmap for Decarbonising Aviation approved by Council of Ministers Resolution in October 2024.

Memorandum

At the Clean Aviation Annual Forum 2025 in Brussels, before an assembly of more than 500 European representatives of  the aviation industry, António Grilo, president of  the ANI, stressed that Portugal is the first EU Member State to sign a memorandum with the CAJU and noted that this union of efforts between the ANI and the ANAC enables the creation of a single framework to line up the research and innovation priorities, maximise synergies between national, regional, and European programmes, and find sources of funding effectively.

Ana Vieira da Mata, president of the ANAC, highlighted the initiative’s alignment with the national intent to contribute to decarbonising the aviation sector, via a vibrant aeronautical industry that is growing, backed by a regulator that promotes and collaborated in the innovation process.

This memorandum is therefore another step to drive the growing relevance of the Portuguese aeronautical industry, to be added to the private investment of global firms such as Airbus, Embraer, or Lufthansa Technik.

The Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CAJU) is a European partnership set up under Horizon Europe that fosters research and innovation in aviation for the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon sector. 

The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, was the rapporteur for this and other European partnerships under Horizon Europe when she was recently a Member of European Parliament, from 2019 to 2024.