The Vice-Presidency of the Regional Government of the Azores today published Ordinance No. 76/2026, approving the Specific Regulation for the Research and Innovation Incentive System, known as “INOVAR 2030”.
Through this incentive system aimed at the business sector, the aim is to develop and strengthen regional research and innovation capacities, as well as the adoption of advanced technologies in the Azores.
INOVAR 2030 will allow the new incentives to be covered by the General Block Exemption Regulation, overcoming the limitations of previous programmes in which these incentives were granted under the de minimis regime, with a maximum aid intensity of €200,000. The existence of a specific regulation responds to the ambitions of entrepreneurs and researchers who were strongly constrained by previous financial restrictions, making it possible to support projects of greater scale, risk and technological intensity.
For the Vice-President of the Government, “INOVAR 2030 represents a true paradigm shift for industrial research and experimental development in the Azores”.
The framework under the General Block Exemption Regulation “will enable us to leave behind the constraints and limitations of the de minimis regime, which often blocked or rejected highly relevant applications due to companies having exhausted the available ceiling”, he stressed.
Artur Lima underlined that “clear, coherent and transparent conditions are being created to finance structuring projects that require significant investment and have the potential to generate significant impacts on the incorporation of innovation and the competitiveness of the productive sector”.
The new regulation will allow “investment in R&D (Research and Development) to translate into a stronger, knowledge-intensive regional economy that generates lasting value for the Azores and the Azoreans”, he stressed.
INOVAR 2030 provides for the progressive opening of calls for applications dedicated to the creation of scientific and technological knowledge, scientific infrastructures, qualified entrepreneurship and technology transfer.
With regard to business R&D, the programme provides a range of instruments such as demonstration projects, mobilising programmes, R&TD centres, simplified projects and proof-of-concept projects, accommodating multiple investment profiles and stages of technological maturity.
The base funding rates for eligible expenditure will be up to 50% for industrial research and up to 25% for experimental development. However, through increases linked to company size, effective collaboration or the broad dissemination of results, the maximum aid intensity may reach 80%.
As one of the objectives is to strengthen the R&I (Research and Innovation) capacities of SMEs, these will be the main beneficiaries of these optimised rates. In co-promotion operations, non-business entities of the regional scientific system may receive support of up to 85%.
Artur Lima also stated that “following the launch of INOVAR 2030, the conditions are in place to publish, by the end of this year, calls with a total allocation of more than €13 million aimed at projects led by regional companies”.
The INOVAR 2030 Incentive System is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Azores 2030 Programme.
Source: Government of the Azores, “Vice-Presidência lança ‘INOVAR 2030’ com mais de 13 milhões de euros para impulsionar a Investigação e Inovação Empresarial”, 8 July 2026, Government of the Azores Portal.