CIRCE - Technology Centre secures €17.7M to help industry meet its energy and sustainability challenges by 2023

CIRCE-Technological Centre, specialised in providing innovative solutions to boost competitiveness and sustainable development, celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023, maintaining a positive trend and a growth rate of 20%. The organisation closed the year with income of 17.7 million euros, of which 7.44 million (+27% compared to 2022) came from projects with companies and 9.92 million (+6%) came from the return obtained from competitive financing funds. These funds allow technological knowledge to mature and then be transferred to the business fabric in the fields of energy and sustainability.

This past year has coincided with the celebration of its 30th Anniversary and the closing of the 2019-2023 Strategic Plan, a period in which the Aragonese technology centre has experienced one of the highest economic growth rates in its history, doubling the €7.8M of 2018 (+127%). This growth has translated into 135% more private income and 117% more competitive funds, as well as a parallel increase in its workforce, which has risen from 145 people in 2018 to 290 in 2023.

85% of the private income is the result of more than 200 satisfied customers who continue to place their trust in the technology centre year after year. Of these, 68% are national clients, 18% are from Aragon and 14% are international. Among other advances, for these companies and the sector in general, CIRCE has developed and transferred innovative solutions for the calculation of the curtailment of the electricity grid through the use of network models; for the development of conductive and bidirectional electric vehicle chargers or for the digitalisation and electrification of industrial sectors.

Almost €12M in funding from competitive funds to help companies.

With regard to funding derived from competitive R&D&I funds, in 2023 CIRCE obtained a total of €11.90M. Of these, 95% belong to the Horizon Europe programme and correspond to 21 projects (four of them coordinated), reaching a funding of €11.58M and a return for Spanish entities collaborating with CIRCE of almost €35M and €13M for Aragonese organisations. In this way, the centre achieves its main objective of transferring the results of these projects to companies in order to improve their competitiveness.

For the second consecutive year, CIRCE has exceeded the 20 annual projects achieved within the framework of this European programme and has maintained a success rate of over 50% in this type of calls for proposals. Regarding the nature of these projects, most are linked to the optimisation of renewable generation in the primary sector; the development of digital twins for the sustainable management of buildings and districts; the electrification of energy-intensive industry and industrial symbiosis through the use of hydrogen and the use of waste.

Challenges for 2024: growth, internationalisation and continuing to serve as a tool for regional development

Among the challenges for 2024, CIRCE-Technological Centre expects to maintain its growth above 20%, with a strong commitment to internationalisation. It also aims to consolidate its entry into the automotive industry through the transfer of its inductive charging prototypes for electric vehicles and to contribute to the deployment of energy communities. Finally, it is starting to work in the data centre sector and is committed to biomethane as a key tool for the decarbonisation of industry and the development of the circular economy.

In terms of competitive funding, it expects to reach €12m by 2024, focusing on innovative projects in the fields of renewable generation, electronics for the integration of electric vehicles and storage, grid infrastructures and protection, and the digitisation of the industrial and electricity sector.

Finally, it aims to continue to serve as a tool for regional development, continuing its commitment to being a focus for quality employment and the retention of young talent. In this sense, the centre also wants to continue serving Aragonese institutions, such as Zaragoza City Council, which it is helping to position itself as a European example within the Mission of Climate Neutral Cities for 2030.
 

Four years as one of the best companies in Spain to work for

The positive balance is also reflected in the growth of CIRCE's workforce, which closed 2023 with more than 290 professionals, 5% more than in 2022. This growth has been accompanied by a professional and personal development plan through which CIRCE employees have benefited from more than 200 internal and external training courses.

Likewise, following the success of previous editions, in 2023 it has relaunched the CIRCE Academy programme with the incorporation of 17 recent graduates from STEAM careers, who have joined the organisation while allowing them to continue their training with a specialised postgraduate course. After completing the first edition of the programme and two years of experience, 80% of the participants have already been successfully integrated into the workforce.

In addition, the technology centre continues with its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and has renewed the RSA and RSA+ Seals issued by the Government of Aragon and has obtained for the fourth consecutive year the Great Place to Work Seal (GPTW), positioning the centre as one of the best companies in Spain to work for.