14.5 million euros to promote research initiatives of excellence, in line with the Ikur strategy

• The grants are earmarked for strategic areas of research such as biomedicine, neurosciences, supercomputing, quantum communications and advanced materials 

The Governing Council has approved, at the proposal of the Minister of Education, the award of a total of 14.5 million euros to support different initiatives linked to IKUR collaborative research excellence, which are being carried out in research centres in the Basque Country.

In 2021, the Department of Education launched the IKUR 2030 Strategy with the aim of strengthening the Basque Country’s scientific fabric and achieving international positioning in specific niches. This strategy is strongly committed to four strategic areas of research for the coming years. They are: Neurosciences; Quantum Technologies; Neutrionics; Supercomputing and Artificial Intelligence.

This strategy and the choice of these areas responds to a worldwide commitment, due to their potential to respond to global challenges, as they are areas aligned with the main science initiatives and lines of research at international level, in which the Basque Country has unique capabilities and a good positioning.

The objectives set out in this strategy will be reinforced thanks to the impetus given to these five specific actions, which receive the following grants:

BIHAR Ikerbasque Biomedicine Laboratory: 1 million euros to the Ikerbasque Foundation. Bihar is a research space located in the Leioa Science Park, created in 2018 with the aim of providing a rapid and flexible response to the incorporation of new research staff of excellence. With this new boost to the BIHAR laboratory, thanks to the grant of 1 million euros, new research spaces will be created in the area of biomedicine, which will allow the location of new state-of-the-art scientific equipment and enable the creation of new research groups led by Ikerbasque researchers in the field of biomedical research.

Basque Nanoneuro Network (B3N): 4,115,000 euros to the Ikerbasque Foundation. The Basque Nanoneuro Network (B3N) initiative, an intersection between neuroscience and nanoscience, aims to develop electronic, optical, molecular chemistry and computational methods and tools to investigate the functioning of neural circuits, develop new therapies for brain diseases and create start-ups and SMEs. Its overall aim is to use technological advances in the field of nanoscience to develop novel technologies for neuroscience and biomedical applications.

The funding of 4.15 million euros granted today thanks to the Basque Country Strategic Investment Plan 2022-2024, will serve to promote a consortium of laboratories working in a network to achieve these objectives, as well as to establish a physical laboratory in Donostia, the “Basque NanoNeuro Hub”.

Strengthening Supercomputing -  Hyperion Euskadi: 1,355,000 euros to DIPC. The aid granted today thanks to the Basque Country Strategic Investment Plan 2022-2024, aims to position the Basque Country as an international hub for cutting-edge science, intensifying strategic investments in the area of quantum technologies, both in traditional and quantum supercomputing, in the I2Basque data network, and in quantum communications and sensor technology.

One of the ways to carry out this plan is to strengthen the BERC Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), the cornerstone of the Basque Country’s research excellence in Quantum, through the provision of a new advanced centre in experimental science. This initiative brings together investments in equipment, connectivity, personnel and participation in international projects.

The Department of Education and Lehendakaritza—through the innovation fund—have invested 3 million euros over the last 5 years in the construction of the ATLAS supercomputer, the most powerful in the Basque Country and among the 3 best in Spain. In this new phase, new supercomputing nodes will be acquired that will allow the construction of a new supercomputer, HYPERION, which will offer the Basque Country’s scientific community the most modern computing technology on the market.

Complementary Quantum Communications Plan: 5,810,617 euros to DIPC and Tecnalia. Quantum Communications is recognised as a strategic sector within second-generation quantum technologies, which are those based on the ability to manipulate quantum systems individually. This is attested by the various Quantum Communications programmes in many countries, from the United States to China. In Europe, Quantum Communications is the only area with two Framework Programmes (FPAs) within the European Quantum Flagship and, in addition, a unique 10-year infrastructure programme with the objective of creating a pan-European quantum network (EuroQCI).

The grant of 5.8 million euros approved will strengthen the excellent ecosystem that the Basque Country has to articulate the different challenges proposed in the development of Quantum Communications. Thus, the BERC centres, in particular the DIPC, the BRTA centres, led in this initiative by Tecnalia, the UPV/EHU and, ultimately, industry, have long been driving progress in CT, covering areas as diverse as the fundamental theory of quantum physics, the study of quantum entanglement of photons, the manipulation of matter on an atomic scale or theoretical advances applied to the development of quantum algorithms and software, among others.

Complementary Advanced Materials Plan: 2,289,000 euros to Tecnalia. The main aim of the Complementary Advanced Materials Plan in the Basque Country is to strengthen the IKUR strategy for the promotion of supercomputing (HPC) applied to modelling and simulation in advanced materials, in collaboration with the Basque centres participating in the Basque Government’s IKUR strategy. The grant approved today will advance the study of materials with improved properties and/or advanced functionalities, including, among others, graphene and other 2D materials, smart materials and nanostructured materials that may have direct application in strategic sectors such as energy, environment, electronics and ICT.