Today, we celebrate a milestone in the field of science and technology between Portugal and Spain"

The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Elvira Fortunato, and her Spanish counterpart, Diana Morant, established a significant advance in the field of science and innovation during the 33rd Luso-Spanish Summit, the theme of which was innovation. 

Elvira Fortunato said that "today we celebrate not just a historical day, but above all a landmark in the field of science and technology between Portugal and Spain".

Both Ministers signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU’s) that contribute to creating solutions and answers to the economic and social challenges raised by the energy and digital transition. 

The three MoU’s are fundamental to boost Europe’s strategic autonomy when it comes to energy and digitalisation. 

One of the agreements envisages the creation and development of the Iberian Energy Research and Storage Centre (CIIAE) located in the Autonomous Community of Estremadura. 

The CIIAE will contribute to managing the production of green energy, research into energy storage and the development of R&D&I to respond to the technological and scientific challenges associated with managing renewables, specifically the development of thermal and electrochemical energy storage materials and systems, generation, transmission and industrial uses of hydrogen and other renewable gases.

Elvira Fortunato and Diana Morant signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the development of the Earth Observation Satellite Constellation (Atlantic Constellation) made up of an estimated number of 12-16 satellites (6 to 8 from each country) in order to provide earth observation data with high space and time resolution.

This will enable monitoring territories for a joint approach on critical matters such as monitoring biomass, land planning and dynamic records, fire prevention, monitoring farming and water resources, as well as monitoring our vast Atlantic territory, its traffic and resources.

An agreement was also signed to bolster collaboration in the joint strategic area of microelectronics and semiconductors in collaboration with the Ministries of Economy of both countries, bearing in mind the growing demand for semiconductors in key sectors such as the automotive industry or even household appliances, and the need to speed up autonomy in manufacturing integrated circuits to provide the Iberian Peninsula with a hub for research and production of integrated circuits.