To strengthen Hungary’s energy sovereignty, a HUF 13 billion corporate innovation programme is being launched within the Ányos Jedlik Energy Programme, announced Balázs Hankó, Minister for Culture and Innovation, and Csaba Lantos, Minister of Energy, at a joint press conference in Budapest on Friday.
Balázs Hankó said that through this innovation-supporting programme the government’s goal is to improve the competitiveness of Hungarian-owned companies and link them with universities, so that by 2030 Hungary will be among Europe’s top ten innovators.
We can be proud of our achievements in innovation, stressed the minister, mentioning the John von Neumann Programme, which focuses on connecting universities, research institutes and the economy.
Expenditure on innovation has tripled over the past ten years to HUF 1,066 billion, the number of people working in research and development has doubled, and the number of doctoral students has risen by 50%. The number of patent applications increased by 35% last year to 593, and 12 Hungarian universities are among the top 5% in the world, he noted.
Balázs Hankó noted that the European Union is falling behind both economically and scientifically compared to its competitors. The Draghi report pointed out that the EU is in a competitiveness vacuum, and the new seven-year EU budget proposal would further deepen this competitiveness deficit. According to the proposal, 20% of the funds would go to Ukraine, 10% to repaying loans and 5% to further expanding Brussels bureaucracy, he said.
He called it unacceptable that under the new budget proposal only 8% of research and innovation funds would go to the member states that joined in 2004, while more than 90% would go to Western European countries.
Csaba Lantos said that applications are expected from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises for the call for proposals titled Support for energy research and development projects. Following public consultation, it was decided to reduce the minimum amount of funding requests, so companies can now apply for between HUF 100 million and HUF 600 million, which they can use to implement innovative energy technology developments.
The aim of the programme is for companies to produce new, innovative products and technological solutions that will later result in exportable products and at the same time strengthen the country’s energy sovereignty, he said.
A total of 11 focus areas were designated in the call, including the production of non-biological renewable hydrogen using electrolysis, waste heat utilisation technologies, optimisation of battery lifetime, as well as efficient and environmentally friendly energy recycling or building energy and energy efficiency solutions.
Csaba Lantos said that the corporate innovation programme implemented under the Ányos Jedlik Programme is aligned with EU climate goals, including the EU’s Fit for 55 climate protection package, which requires at least a 55% reduction in EU emissions. Hungary is performing better than the EU average in achieving these targets, he noted.
The details of the call for proposals are available from Friday on the website of the National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI Office).
Source: MTI