- The Director General for Industrial Strategy and Business Premises, Margarita Ardao, attends the event at the Galician Technology Park to present the results of the European POCTEP Aeroganp project, to boost research and knowledge transfer in the aerospace sector
- She recalls that the Xunta has just launched the first call for grants to facilitate access by Galician companies to the defence and security industry through support for obtaining certifications and approvals
San Cibrao das Viñas (Ourense), 11 December 2025
The Director General for Industrial Strategy and Business Premises, Margarita Ardao, took part today in an event on emerging technologies in the aerospace sector as part of the European POCTEP Aeroganp project, the cooperation programme funded with European funds to boost research and knowledge transfer in the aerospace sector in the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion.
In her speech, Ardao highlighted the relevance of cross-border cooperation and pointed out that the Xunta has just launched a call for grants worth €1.5 million to encourage Galician companies to operate in the defence and security industries, providing them with support to obtain specific certifications, approvals for systems and products or registration in specific defence registers.
At the conference, which was held at the Galician Technology Park and at which the results of the Aeroganp project were presented, the director general stated that this pioneering call is the first line of grants launched under the Strategic Initiative in Security, Defence and Aerospace (Iasde).
Aeroganp, “Creation of an axis for research and knowledge transfer in the aerospace sector in the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion”, is a project co-financed with Feder funds from the Interreg Spain-Portugal POCTEP programme. With a budget of two million euros, its aim is to boost research in a strategic sector, aerospace, in the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion.
The consortium consists of 12 partners, led by the Institute of Physics and Aerospace Sciences (IFCAE) of the University of Vigo, the three Galician universities together with those of Minho and Porto in Portugal, technology centres such as Gradiant, ITG, INESCTEC or CEIIA, public administrations such as the Xunta de Galicia and the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Galicia-North Portugal (GNP-AECT) and the Galician Aerospace Consortium (CAG).
One of the main objectives of Aeroganp is the creation of a cross-border cooperation network in the Euroregion, bringing together the main actors interested in the sector to promote research and innovation. It also seeks to implement a series of demonstrators operating on both sides of the border, facilitating the transfer of aerospace technology to society. Likewise, it aims to make a significant contribution to the development and improvement of research, innovation and technological transfer capabilities in the aerospace sector to the production sector.
In addition to the presentation of the project results, under which a digital map of R&D&I capabilities in this field was produced and joint demonstrator pilots were developed, and with the aim of fostering cooperation between the different agents, the conference included a brokerage event, an intermediation event on emerging technologies in the aerospace sector.
During the event, a round table was held on the lifecycle of a business project in Galicia, moderated by Higinio González Jorge, Director of IFCAE, with the participation of representatives from Avincis, Telespazio, Airbus, Tecnobit and Indra; and an analysis of Galicia’s opportunities in strategic sectors was addressed.
