The Government of the Azores, through the Regional Fund for Science and Technology (FRCT), was formally notified by the European Commission with regard to the approval of the "GEOTHERMICA" project. It is included in "ERA-NET COFUND actions" typology under the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Union, designated as Horizon 2020.
 
With a length of four years, the project has an overall budget of about 11 million Euros. The Regional Fund for Science and Technology (FRCT) is responsible for providing 130 thousand Euros for the participation of the teams of the Azores Scientific and Technological System in international consortia for calls to be later launched in Europe.
 
The President of FRCT highlighted "the opportunity that this consortium represents for the co-financing of research and innovation projects in the Azores, leveraging the funds available for science and technology."
 
According to Nelson Simões, with the approval of this project, FRCT exceeds in mid-2016 the strategic goals that had been traced up to December 2020, registering a total of three projects approved in a total of nine applications.
 
"Given that the average rate of approval of Horizon 2020 projects is around 7% at European level, FRCT achieved an approval rate of 30%, which is approximately four times higher the European average," said the government official.
 
In this context, Nelson Simões launched a challenge to the projects team of FRCT, urging them to "double the number of projects approved by 2020" in order to "to transform the work of this body in capital gains for science and technology as well as to enhance the international projection of the Azores."
 
In coming weeks, FRCT will move forward with the legal procedures for the signing of the financing agreement with the European Commission. The works of the consortium are expected to before the end of this year.
 
The consortium, which includes 16 partners from ten European countries and three countries that signed Association Agreements, will establish funding synergies in the area of geothermal energy, through the combination of national and European funding for research and development.