According to Publituris,“The memorandum of cooperation, signed by the National Innovation Agency (ANI) and the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) on behalf of the Portuguese State, also provides for the creation of a Common Technical Roadmap to identify investment opportunities with a view to developing disruptive low-carbon aircraft”, reads a joint statement from the Ministries of Education, Science and Innovation, Infrastructure and Housing, Economy and Environment and Energy.

The memorandum also provides that CAJU will provide “technical support to ensure the alignment of national programmes with the programmes objectives” and that Portugal will guarantee resources and financing instruments to support complementary projects.

Thus, two notices of the COMPETE 2030 programme will be launched throughout this year, one of which is for “research and development (R&D) projects in the area of sustainable aviation fuels”, which will have an allocation of six million euros, while the other, which has already been launched and has applications open until October 2025, is intended for “R&D projects in the area of ​​aeronautics, space and defense, in partnership with entities in Canada”.

“In addition to these instruments, CAJU projects approved under the Horizon Europe programme that were excluded due to lack of funding but have obtained the seal of excellence may also be supported under COMPETE 2030, thus benefiting from a simplified evaluation process”, adds the information released.

This memorandum, adds the joint statement, is in line with the National Roadmap for the Decarbonization of Aviation, which was approved by a Council of Ministers Resolution in October 2024.

Portugal thus becomes the first Member State of the European Union (EU) to sign a memorandum with CAJU, which will benefit from the joint efforts of ANI
and ANAC, which allows “creating a unique framework to align research and innovation priorities, maximize synergies between national, regional and European programs, and find sources of funding more effectively”.

“This memorandum is yet another step towards boosting the growing relevance of the Portuguese aeronautical industry, which joins the private investment of global companies such as Airbus, Embraer and Lufthansa Technik,” the statement added.

It should be noted that the Clean Aviation Joint Undertaking (CAJU) is the result of a European partnership, established under the Horizon Europe programme, which promotes research and innovation in aviation, aiming at the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon sector.