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Portugal Exports reach EUR 100 billion in 2022 according to the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade. Portuguese exports will reach this figure for the first time in its history, despite the external environment and rising prices of energy and raw materials. During the first half of 2022, Portuguese exports grew by 49% of GDP, of which 20% accounts for the Tourism sector. With such successful figures, Portugal can become more ambitious for the industry and business sectors. It is to be noted that, despite a number of external shocks, Portuguese businesses are more competitive. The Portuguese Industrial Association (AIP) has an open Call for Proposals for 11 Digital Trade Accelerators to cover continental Portugal, the Azores and Madeira. There will be four consortiums that will be supporting the growth of businesses in the goods and services sectors via the digital transformation of processes and business models. The consortiums will also provide capacity building and support targeting direct investments and the globalization of SMEs. Another approach targeting SMEs for promoting exports includes an MOU with the Portugal Business Roundtable. The association, that comprises 42 of the largest corporate groups in Portugal, has as main goal to accelerate the country’s economic and social growth. This new partnership will contribute to driving the growth of Portuguese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are major drivers of growth, since they not only contribute to employment, but they are also innovative. With the number of support measures to be provided to SMEs increasing, it is expected that this will have a major economic impact and will drive the upward trend in 2023. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/portugal-exports-100-billion #PortugalExports2022 #PortugalEconomy2022 #AssociaçãoIndustrialPortuguesa #PortugalSMEs #AssociaçãoBusinessRoundtablePortugal #portugalnews #portugalbusinessnews

A Spain-Portugal Fund of EUR 484 M, of which EUR 365 M will be financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), has just been announced under the Inter-regional Spain-Portugal European Development Fund (POCTEP). It is the largest Program of the kind in the European Union. The POCTEP Program will provide support for the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy in the Spanish – Portuguese border region. The Program integrates borders of 1,234 km divided into six regions: Galicia-Northern Portugal, Northern Portugal-Castile and Leon, Castile and Leon-Central Portugal, Alentejo-Central Estremadura, Alentejo-Algarve-Andalucía and the multi-regional area. According to the Secretary of State for Regional Development, Isabel Ferreira, at the seminar to publicly present the POCTEP, “this is the largest EC-funded cross-border Program that will leverage development and competitiveness in the low-density regions." The Program will promote sustainable jobs, labor-mobility and corporate networks in order to boost research and knowledge transfer and to promote energy efficiency projects. In the field of Smart Growth, the Program will provide capacity-building for cross-border innovation as well as support to SMEs, especially in the field of R&D. Other areas of intervention include Sustainable Growth to adapt to Climate Change and Territorial Cohesion for cross-border public services. The Spain-Portugal Fund will Promote research, technological development and innovation for commercial use. This will include technological transfer, university-business cooperation and support to SMEs with a network of mentors as well as business incubation for globalization. Fund beneficiaries will include Universities, Technology Centers as well as Business Associations. Under this Program, Spain and Portugal will carry out joint initiatives and the first bids will be launched in December 2022. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/spain-portugal-fund #SpainPortugalFund #EuropeanRegionalDevelopmentFund #interregEurope #SmartGrowthPortugal #InterregionalSpainPortugalEuropeanDevelopmentFund #POCTEP #portugalnews #portugalbusinessnews

With the Porto Tech Hub Conference to be held on October 27, 2022, topics such as Cloud investments, AI and Blockchain in Portugal will be at the forefront with speakers from Google and Amazon Web Services. Portugal already distinguishes itself with its Portuguese-native company OutSystems, which was ranked by Forbes Cloud 100 among the 100 top global companies for private cloud. Forbes Cloud 100 has a panel of judges that are CEOs of public companies operating in the cloud sector. With most nominated companies reaching the milestone of Euros 97 million and some reaching Euros 7.2 billion, the outlook for the Cloud economy is promising. OutSystems, which was founded in 2001 in Lisbon, Portugal, is worth well over a billion dollars. The Portuguese founder of OutSystems, Paulo Rosado states that he provides a low-code platform for developing applications. The market for “low-code” software development platforms is expected to amount to 22 billion Euros in 2022. The company, which is the current market leader and supplier of the best product according to the prestigious technological consultancies Gartner and Forrester, is on the verge of becoming the next Portugal flagship enterprise. OutSystems is enabling cloud transformation that provides solutions to the main challenges faced by businesses. Major international market-players are investing in cloud applications in Portugal, including Chinese JD.com and Alibaba. JD.com is a Chinese e-commerce company that is a major B2C online retailer in China by transaction volume and revenue. It is a member of the Fortune Global 500 and a major competitor to Alibaba. Their Digital Marketing Jingteng plan integrates solutions for shopping and social data. The Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com launched a virtual desk dedicated to the sale of Portuguese products, after an agreement signed in 2018 with the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP). During the first phase, the portal focused on wines, but will also integrate agri-business. The company Eternal Asia, based in Shenzhen, is responsible for the intermediation between Portuguese companies and JD.com for the import, distribution and marketing strategy. China is the world leader in Internet sales. According to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the total volume of transactions in online sales in China reaches €4.2 billion, more than half of worldwide internet sales. Based in Beijing, JD.com is the second largest e-commerce firm in the country after the Alibaba group, that holds 25% of the market share. Alibaba Cloud Portugal, the Chinese e-commerce platform chose Porto to open the first of the company’s three international centers. Alibaba chose Portugal for its first service-center in Europe. The new hub will provide support to 88 countries in 3 regions. The two other hubs are Mexico and Malaysia. Alibaba is the fifth largest AI company and the second largest financial services group after Visa. Alibaba Cloud provides digital services to the Africa-Middle East region in collaboration with Teleperformance. With its growth in the EU region, Alibaba is described as a Gateway to China in order to sell products to Chinese customers. Alibaba also describes itself as “The Gateway to Portuguese Companies in China: E-Commerce, Technology and Innovation", with plans to create a trade route giving access to Chinese customers. With the online payment platform Alipay service, businesses can facilitate payments for Chinese tourists. The agreement signed between Alibaba and the Portugal Global Trade & Investment Agency (AICEP) aims at attracting foreign investment to help Portuguese companies reach 600 million Chinese customers. Alibaba’s European strategy also aims to further its fast-growing cloud business to deliver digital transformation using cloud computing technology in the areas of retail, marketing, finance, logistics and other supporting services. In terms of Alibaba’s long-term growth goals, the company plans to reach two billion customers by 2036, which the company hopes to achieve in Europe. With the emergence of the 5-6G network, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and increasing cloud storage, the demand for data transfer will only increase. Everything from public services to industrial production will become even more dependent on the smooth functioning of subsea data cables, elevating the strategic importance of the cable infrastructure, especially considering the limitations of satellite technology in supplementing big data transfers. According to IDC, the global spending on cloud computing services is expected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. Since the global pandemic of 2020, cloud technology jumped ahead in popularity due to the level of security of data and the flexibility of working options for remote workers. For example, Zoom grew over 160% in 2020 alone. With such economic prospects, Portugal is looking up to the cloud for major Foreign Direct Investments. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/cloud-investment-portugal

The Portugal Trade and Investment agency reported on the outlook of China’s Infrastructure Investment projects that describe the advantages of investing in Portugal. China’s minister of commerce made a statement at an International Infrastructure Investment forum held in Macao on September 28, 2022, about China’s global outlook that underlines that China’s foreign investment will reach Euros 187 billion this year. The China Forum included the participation of 1,300 leaders from over 600 organizations, including government agencies, financial institutions and global companies. AICEP (Portugal’s Global Trade & Investment Agency) is a government body focused on the development of a competitive business environment that contributes to the globalization of the Portuguese economy. AICEP Portugal took note of the report by China that forms part of the Belt and Road Infrastructure Development Report (BRiDi) 2022. As a reputable government agency, AICEP Portugal has a global network in over 50 countries. Its mission is to increase Portugal’s competitiveness and reputation by fostering structural investment. AICEP includes the Parks Management entity that advises on the best location for investment projects. The Portugal government agency also supports international investment projects that contribute to the Portuguese economy. According to the 2022 report released by China, Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries are part of the China initiative. Portugal is one of the countries targeted by China for infrastructure investment, as it is the Portuguese-speaking country with the best score in the sub-index linked to the environment. Since Portugal is especially attractive for investment in the field of infrastructure development, China is targeting projects in sectors that are linked to transport and to the environment. According to the report, Portugal signed transport and environment contracts worth over Euros 628 million in 2021. Portugal ranks high in the report as it is the Portuguese-speaking country that has the best score for the development index which includes, not only the environment, but also political, economic and market factors, as well as the ease of doing business. The China report about Portugal underlines that its operating costs and GDP are economic conditions that facilitate infrastructure investment projects. It also takes note of the fact that Portugal’s power production facilities are good and that the trend is towards renewable energy during this period of energy transition. The Belt and Road infrastructure development initiative was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping. It involves 71 countries in China’s international strategic plan to develop maritime, road and rail links, as well as investment in energy resources. The 2022 Belt and Road Infrastructure Development Index (BRIDI) report includes 8 Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs), that are chosen for near-term prospects in the infrastructure industry. The report uses the BRIDI index that looks into the environment and costs for infrastructure development in the Belt and Road Infrastructure countries. The higher the BRIDI, the better the prospect of a country’s infrastructure industry. Portugal ranks 27th with a score of 110 in the 2022 Belt and Road Infrastructure Development Index. While the EU launched in December 2021 the “Global Gateway” that will raise about EUR 300 billion for global infrastructure construction, the Belt and Road Initiative countries have developed their green infrastructure policies and promoted financing for green infrastructure projects. The China study finds that hi-tech green infrastructure projects with low operating costs and environmental impact have become the region’s preferred choice. Green infrastructure will be the hotspot for investments towards dual carbon goals, prioritizing green infrastructure development. This means sizeable investments in public transportation facilities powered by clean energy, such as electricity, hydrogen, advanced biofuels and natural gas, with a growth of 23% year-on-year. This also includes renewable energy power projects such as wind power and hydropower projects that grew by 36% year-on-year. Overall Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) register a higher score and ranking in this year’s report. This is also due to the environment where Portugal, Cape Verde and Mozambique are the top performers. The real GDP growth rate of Portugal is 4.9%, that is higher than the average of Belt and Road Infrastructure countries. Since Portugal has sound conditions for infrastructure projects, this sounds promising for future Chinese infrastructure projects in Portugal in the short-term. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/china-portugal-investments

Portugal’s White Gold Rush, Lithium mining, is driven by the demand for Green Energy. Lithium is a critical raw material for the ongoing energy transition. Portugal’s Prime Minister just announced a joint Portugal-Spain energy storage facility that will help overcome the severe energy crisis that is exacerbated by the record-breaking drought. This announcement, made in the wake of multiple crises in Europe, is leading to a White Gold, Lithium, rush to Portugal. The Iberian Peninsula will become strategically important to Repower the EU since the newly announced trilateral agreement with France that will lead to the creation of a Green Energy Corridor. The Corridor will interconnect Portugal and Spain to Marseille and to the rest of Europe. Since the announcement of the European Commission’s plans to create strategic reserves in order to prevent disruptions in the supply-chain, lithium is in the spotlight. It is now seen as strategically important for the EU and this has led to the European Critical Materials Act, that will be the driving force in the making of a new EU lithium powerhouse. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the current lithium demand to grow exponentially. The demand for batteries is a major engine of growth and is leading to a situation where demand is exceeding supply and prices are rising. Portugal’s White Gold reserves are 60,000 tons. Portugal ranks 9th in the Top 10 countries with the largest lithium reserves. However, China has a monopoly of rare earths reserves, followed by the United States, Japan and South Korea. According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Lithium Spot Prices have risen by 900% since January 2020. China is the global manufacturing powerhouse since it owns 60% of the global supply for processed lithium. Amidst the call for Green Energy solutions for sustainable development, there is a rising demand that is not met by investors. The CEO of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence underlined the difference between mining capacity and the quality of the final product, as the production of lithium batteries requires specific technology. This is why the supply of battery-grade material is a difficult process that may not be met by a simple mining strategy. Portugal’s approach does not only rely on mining lithium but also on a fully integrated value chain to produce batteries for the EU automotive sector. The linkages between lithium batteries and electric vehicles are taken into account by including the Portugal Automotive sector in the development plan. Galp and Northvolt have announced a Joint Venture, the Aurora project, that will become Europe’s largest lithium refinery. Setúbal was the site selected for the facility since it is close to Portugal’s car manufacturing center. The plant will be in the Sapec Bay Industrial Park as it has good access to railway and port facilities. This will lead to an integrated approach from mining to processing, to batteries being used for manufacturing electric vehicles in the same region. The Aurora plant will be located only a five-hour drive away from the Barroso Lithium project. The facility will produce the amount of lithium hydroxide needed for 50 GWh of battery production per year. 50% of the plant’s capacity will be used for battery manufacturing. With this expected output, Portugal will be able to produce over 700,000 electric vehicles. According to Statista, the Electric Vehicles market in Portugal is projected to grow by 23.68% (2022-2027) resulting in a market volume of US$6.17bn in 2027. Moreover, the Portugal-Spain energy storage facility will lead to the development of large capacity batteries to store energy. Portugal’s Prime Minister just announced the Portugal-Spain energy storage facility that will strengthen the electricity grid within the Iberian market. This new announcement is due to the fact that the main challenge in the energy transition is how to store the energy produced. Hydrogen is another way to store energy from renewable sources and Portugal is positioning itself as a Green Hydrogen hub, where the energy used to produce hydrogen will come from renewable sources. While Sines in Portugal is set to become the new Hydrogen Valley, the energy storage partnership with Spain will further enhance the usage of natural resources on the Iberian Peninsula. This will include lithium for producing large-capacity batteries that will be used to store energy on a large-scale. The stored energy will be used to respond to an energy crisis situation. This is critical since Portugal is facing a severe drought and has less capacity to produce hydroelectricity. The Green Energy Corridor includes plans for building a pipeline for green hydrogen in the long-term, while being used temporarily for the transport of natural gas. New announcements are expected following the trilateral meeting to be held in Spain on the 9th of December when Portugal, Spain and France will meet to further discuss the project. Spain and Portugal together represent a market of around 30 million cars and the share of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is growing rapidly, accounting for 10% of new car sales. Since EV charging and hydrogen are two high-growth energy transition businesses, major industry players BP and Iberdrola have announced that they will partner in Portugal and Spain to produce the first 5,000 fast charging points that are planned to be in operation by 2025. They believe that the outlook for energy transitioning on the Iberian Peninsula is sunny and that this will play a critical role in their transformation from international oil companies to becoming integrated energy companies. Portugal has an important role to play in the EU’s battery and electric mobility ecosystem, having the capacity to mine, to refine and to supply lithium. The Savannah Resources “Barroso Lithium Project” in the northeast of Portugal contains the largest lithium resource in Western Europe. Savannah Resources aims at building Western Europe’s largest lithium mine in Portugal and the company is expected to submit its project by mid-March 2023 for consideration by the Portugal government. The project is to develop a resource of around 27 million tons of lithium and the company believes that this will be enough to supply a significant share of Europe’s lithium demand over the coming decades. Portugal is already Europe’s top lithium producer, the supply accounting for about 11% of the global market. However, its output is entirely used to make ceramics and Europe imports the White Gold from China, Australia and Latin America’s Lithium Triangle. Portugal’s government is now studying the potential of issuing Green Bonds to fund Green projects such as renewable energy. Rui Amaral, who is a board member at the Portuguese Debt Management Agency IGCP, said that the size of an issuance would need to be benchmarked, but that it would be around 3 billion Euros. In line with the funding potential, Portugal will have to identify Green projects to fund. On the other hand, the EU plans to fund a third of the recovery plan through its own Green Bonds that will finance member states’ Green projects. While Europe eyes the White Gold Rush to Portugal, it remains to be seen if the demand for Green Energy will lead to the creation of a lithium industry in the country’s renewable energy portfolio. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/portugal-lithium

Portugal News - BayWa r.e. is planning to develop a Floating Offshore Wind Project in Portugal. BayWa r.e is headquartered in Munich with revenues of EUR 3.56 billion in 2021, that represents an increase of 61% due to the sale of plants having a total output of 612.8 MW. Based in 29 countries, with 4,000 employees globally, BayWa r.e is a leading global renewable energy developer. Their joint shareholders are BayWa AG, a globally successful business with revenues of €19.8 billion, and Energy Infrastructure Partners, a market leader in energy infrastructure investment that manages over €2.6 billion from global investors. The company has applied to Portugal’s government to secure the rights for an exclusive use of the seabed off the coast of Viana do Castelo in order to develop a floating wind farm with 30 turbines with a capacity of 600 MW. In a bid to provide commercial support to Portugal’s transition to sustainable energy and to reach net-zero emissions in the coming decades, BayWa r.e plans to develop the project without public subsidies through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Since Portugal plans to increase the share of renewable energy in electricity production to 80% by 2026, the government has developed a marine spatial plan for energy production. Portugal is developing simultaneously a number of innovative Green Energy projects. These include Green Hydrogen production from renewable sources in Sines, the joint Portugal-Spain energy storage facility, the Green Energy Corridor from the Iberian Peninsula to France and is now working on a greenfield offshore wind project. Portugal is part of the Industrial Strategy for Ocean Renewable Energies (EI-ERO) to develop the country’s offshore wind potential. According to EI-ERO, offshore renewable energy has the potential to supply 25% of the electricity consumed annually in Portugal and also to create a new export chain with these emerging technologies. Portugal’s government expects Green Energy exports to increase ten-fold the number of jobs in the active sectors and the greatest potential for exports is expected to be through the development of a Floating Wind Energy industry. Portugal’s plans in the field are in line with the TWIND network of specialized research professionals in the field of offshore wind energy. TWIND has received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 for the coordination and support action program. The TWIND project aims at providing support to WavEC, an institution that includes Portugal. In collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in Portugal, WavEC Offshore Renewables is hosting a seminar on the 10th of November about Offshore Wind in Iberia. Presenters will discuss topics such as innovation, the outlook for an Iberian offshore wind industry, the supply-chain and commercialization, including how to make renewable energy become a competitive option. Portugal’s strategy for ocean renewable energy as an emerging industry is expected to have a high growth potential and a Floating Wind farm will be another string to its bow in order to target the energy transition with multiple sources of renewable energy. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/portugal-wind

The compact SUV Volkswagen T-Roc, produced by Autoeuropa in Portugal is a best-seller of its category in Europe. The compact SUV Volkswagen T-Roc, produced by Autoeuropa in Portugal is a best-seller of its category in Europe. Spearheading the automotive industry, this Made in Portugal SUV model by the German brand registered a 15% increase in sales in 2022, making it the best-selling model sold by Volkswagen in Europe, with nearly 106,000 units exported to the European market between January and July 2022. This new T-Roc SUV from Volkswagen features advanced digitalization and connectivity. With the latest generation of assistance systems, this crossover model builds on the success of the previous generation. The standard equipment now includes LED headlights, a Digital Cockpit, a 6.5-inch infotainment display and a multifunctional steering wheel. The optional Travel Assist system provides predictive cruise control, enabling assisted driving up to 210 km/h. The range of functions includes Park Assist, which also takes care of parking forwards in perpendicular parking bays and moving out of parallel parking spaces. Another highlight among the optional functionalities includes LED matrix headlights, providing optimal visibility at night or in bad weather. While Dynamic Light Assist helps predictively illuminate winding roads, it also ensures that oncoming traffic is not dazzled when the main beam headlights are active. Combining advanced connectivity, the Volkswagen T-Roc has the latest generation of online services on board with a Modular Infotainment Toolkit. The We Connect Plus functions enable the use of innovative digital services such as natural online voice control and provide access to streaming services. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto functions can also be integrated wirelessly into the control system via App Connect Wireless. With a sleek design and a refined interior, the new Volkswagen T-Roc SUV combines powerful performance, innovative features as well as an attractive design that lead to this category becoming a best-seller on the EU market and paves the way to a bright future for the Made in Portugal Automotive Industry. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/suvmadeinportugal

Portugal Business News: Investments in the Portugal Telecommunications sector - Following the licenses auction by Anacom, Cellnex and Digi agreed to invest in a 5G network in Portugal. The project is due to be completed by the end of 2023. Digi 5G routers offer an unprecedented combination of interoperability with leading-edge 5G functionality. Cellnex Telecom already implemented 5G networks in 12 countries and is now boosting its investments in Portugal to ensure national coverage. Cellnex is an independent wireless telecommunications operator that provides the infrastructure required for operators to have access to the most advanced infrastructure in Europe. With a portfolio of around 138,000 sites, the projects that are expected to be completed by 2030 include Spain, Italy, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, UK, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Cellnex is listed on the Spanish stock-exchange and is part of the IBEX35 index and of the EuroStoxx 100 index. Its shareholders include Edizione, GIC, ADIA, Canada Pension Plan, CriteriaCaixa, Blackrock, Wellington Management Group, Capital Group, FMR and Norges Bank. Cellnex is divided into four clusters, namely telecommunications infrastructure, audiovisual networks, security & emergency solutions as well as solutions for Smart cities with the Internet of Things. The upcoming developments in the Portugal IT industry will further contribute to its economic development with the efficient implementation of state-of-the-art connectivity that is a pre-requisite for technological advances. In Portugal, the shift to 5G is accelerating, ushering-in a new era with higher bandwidth and cost-effective wireless networking that will ensure a frictionless transition into the future. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/cellnex-5g-portugal

Portugal Business News - With increasing pressure on Portugal airport capacity, EasyJet plans to carry more passengers per plane by investing in Airbus A321 aircraft that may increase its passenger number by 80, thus reaching a total of 244 seats. The EU Commission has ranked EasyJet first among air-carriers that have applied for a portfolio of up to 18 daily slots at Lisbon airport. EasyJet will start operating new routes from October 2022, while accelerating its transition to carbon neutrality with new aircraft. EasyJet is a European low-cost airline with leading positions at primary airports in Europe. It is one of the largest airlines in the world, with 308 aircraft, operating 927 routes across 34 countries and 153 airports. Airbus expanded the A321neo’s seating capacity with the optimized use of cabin space, while still accommodating Airbus’ modern comfort standard of seats that are at least 18 inches wide. EasyJet plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, with measures that include investments in new airplanes, energy-efficiency and the future use of hydrogen-powered aircraft. The new aircraft will not only carry more passengers but will also consume 15% less fuel. This goal will be reached by the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) that is produced from sustainable feedstocks. SAF gives an impressive reduction of up to 80% in carbon emissions compared to traditional jet fuel. Despite the bottlenecks at the Humberto Delgado airport, EasyJet is confident that its larger airplanes will circumvent such issues, as the Portugal market is high on their agenda. The new slots, together with the Airbus A321 will increase their market-share in Portugal. With the increased presence of EasyJet in Portugal from the end of October, the airline will become the second largest carrier operating in Lisbon. By the end of 2022, EasyJet will have 19 aircraft based in Portugal, that will lead to carrying more than 10 million passengers on a yearly basis. With an additional 4.8 million seats between October 2022 and March 2023, this will lead to an increase of 51% compared to pre-pandemic levels. The new EasyJet investments in Portugal will not only benefit the Tourism Industry but will also lead to the creation of 130 direct jobs in Portugal, where it already employs more than 500 people, thus paving the way for further growth in 2023. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/easyjet-investment-portugal

Portugal Green Investment news – EIT Innoenergy has just announced the creation of a venture capital fund to invest in Green start-ups in order to accelerate the energy transition in Portugal. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which has hubs across Europe and in the US, has already raised € 1.6 billion with EIT InnoEnergy’s alliances in sustainable energy. Start-ups have access to the InnoEnergy community of top European venture capital firms, such as EBAN that is the pan-European representative for the early-stage investor community and gathers 100 member organizations in more than 50 countries with the collaboration of the EU Commission. EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest € 11 billion yearly to fund SMEs. EIT Innoenergy and Santander Asset Management are launching this new climate tech investment vehicle today in Portugal in order to accelerate the energy transition and address Europe’s energy security crisis. This will be done by funneling venture capital into the continent’s most promising climate tech start-ups. The selected start-ups will be from various Green sectors like renewable energies, energy storage, smart cities and hydrogen. Santander will manage the fund portfolio in its efforts towards this overall goal and will raise over €120 billion in green financing by 2025. At the end of the first half of 2022, Banco Santander had €1.2 trillion in total funds. The EIT Innoenergy fund is a further step towards fighting climate change and achieving Net Zero by 2050. Recognized globally as the most active sustainable energy investor, EIT leveraged over 180 portfolio companies to generate €72.8 billion in revenue, that will lead to saving 1.1G tons of CO2e annually by 2030. If you are selected as a Green start-up, a scale-up or an innovator, you may receive support to speed-up time to market. 90% of EIT funded start-ups work with global brand names such as ABB, BMW, EDF, Tata Steel and Vattenfall. With this new fund, EIT Innoenergy is spearheading the way towards a de-carbonized Europe by 2050 through a three-pronged approach, namely battery storage, green hydrogen and solar photovoltaics. While electricity was traditionally generated by power plants and distributed via a grid, the EU Clean Energy Package (CEP) aims at consumer participation to create a bi-directional power flow. With this new announcement today, Green start-ups in Portugal will be able to obtain A and B series funding in equity instead of debt. So, do you have a Green energy start-up to fund? Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/eit-innoenergy-green-fund

Portugal is positioning itself as a Green Hydrogen Hub for the EU. Sines in Portugal is the new Hydrogen Valley, with Green Hydrogen expected to become a major pillar of economic growth. Portugal’s Prime Minister stated that the country is an excellent location to produce Green Energy because water is easily accessible. He added that there was a 1 billion Euro investment to produce Green Hydrogen in Sines under the consortium MadoquaPower2X, with the availability of solar and wind power. The company will have a 500 Megawatt-capacity to produce Green Hydrogen which will be exported from the port of Sines. Danish fund manager and offshore wind developer “Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners” (CIP) have partnered with Madoqua Renewable and Dutch Power2X to build the €1bn project that will produce 50,000 tons of Green Hydrogen annually. The port of Sines, that is south of Lisbon, has the conditions for stocking and trans-shipping energy to the EU. Another consortium of 13 companies and research partners was selected by the European Commission as part of the Green Deal to develop Green Hydrogen production of 100 MW in Sines, Portugal, through the GreenH2Atlantic project. The consortium includes EDP, Galp, ENGIE, Bondalti, Martifer, Vestas Wind Systems A/S, McPhy and Efacec. The project has a €30 million grant and construction is expected to start in 2023 with operation starting in 2025. Portugal also just announced the creation of a Green Hydrogen production unit in Portalegre, that is north of Lisbon, with an investment of €16 million. The project, which is a partnership between Lightsource BP and Douro Gas, has a solar photovoltaic component. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2023, with a production capacity of 89 kilograms of hydrogen per hour. The plant location is due to its access to the high-pressure gas network. Portugal’s Prime Minister added that 80% of the energy Portugal consumes will come from renewable energy by 2026 and this will be decisive for the trade balance. Portugal is welcoming the Green Hydrogen Summit on 18-19 April 2023 in Lisbon, with a focus to achieving cost-competitive Green Hydrogen. The Summit will be attended by governments of several countries as well as industry experts and will facilitate networking with over 250 industry peers. The Iberian Peninsula is strategic for connecting the EU and the existing natural gas pipeline can be used for Green Hydrogen. Portugal and Spain have the capacity to supply 30% of Europe’s natural gas requirements and are also expected to produce Green Hydrogen cheaper than in the rest of the EU. Energy giants Iberdrola and BP have already announced that they will partner to develop H2 production hubs in Portugal and Spain. Renewable Hydrogen is in line with the EU Green Deal and the REPowerEU plan. Green Hydrogen will replace the use of natural gas, transitioning to carbon-neutral gases. The EU announcement for the creation of an EU bank for investment in hydrogen projects will lead to a united Europe for hydrogen distribution. The EU bank will invest in hydrogen projects that are budgeted at three billion Euros to target mass-production. While Hydrogen is abundant on Earth in the form of water (H2O), the creation of pure hydrogen requires breaking molecular bonds. This is possible through electrolysis, where electricity is used to split H2O into hydrogen and oxygen. Green Hydrogen is when the energy used to power electrolysis comes from renewable sources like wind, water or solar energy. Hydrogen can also be used to store energy from renewable sources for later use, as it may be stored underground for as long as it is needed, just like natural gas. While LNG is a transition fuel, it is not zero-emission, while Green Hydrogen complies with EU emission targets. This is why companies are shifting to hydrogen for achieving the Green Deal goals with 100% sustainable energy. The existing LNG infrastructure will help in the transition towards hydrogen distribution. Portugal’s LNG Terminal in Sines lies on the Atlantic coast, south of Lisbon, and comprises port facilities for carriers, with storage tanks, processing facilities and a pipeline connecting to the Natural Gas Transport Network. With the upcoming investments in Green Hydrogen in Portugal, Sines is the new Hydrogen Valley to keep a watch on for new advances in line with the EU Green Deal to Re-Power the EU. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/portugal-green-hydrogen-hub

American biopharmaceutical company, Amgen, has announced an investment of €100 million in Lisbon, Portugal. The multinational selected Lisbon as its EU hub. Amgen, that is a global leader in biotechnology, focuses on molecular biology and biochemistry based on DNA technology for producing innovative drugs. The Amgen Capability Center in Portugal intends to hire an additional 300 people worldwide within the next three years. In 2021, the revenue of Amgen was estimated at around U$ 26 billion. It is a public company based in the US that is traded on Nasdaq AMGN and NASDAQ-100. Amgen, that has expanded its operations to over 100 countries and has a workforce of 20,000 people, focuses on the development of therapeutics in fields such as oncology, hematology, cardiovascular diseases and neuroscience. The choice of Portugal as a hub for the EU was based on the availability of qualified staff, on the country’s attractiveness as a destination to live and work and on lower operating costs. Portugal, that is recognized for its competitiveness and ease of doing business, is attracting global companies in the health and biotechnology sector. According to the Portuguese Association for Bioindustry (P-BIO), around 10% of all international patents in the field of biotechnology are filed by Portuguese scientists, which is nearly twice the EU and OECD average. Portugal registered 446 patents within the last decade. The Portugal Biotech study that was launched by the P-BIO association revealed that the turnover of R&D companies in the study increased by 33%. The sector is in the growth phase, with exports accounting for 60% of the turnover of over half of the companies involved in the study. There is a growing number of investments in the field in Portugal, such as Carbocode that is investing Euros 80 million in its plant for R&D and for the production of sphingolipids that are essential for the nervous and gastrointestinal systems. The biotech industry in Portugal is booming with successful companies such as Lymphact that develops cancer therapy and Swedish giant Recipharm that bought a Portuguese CDMO company. Other successful Portuguese companies include Bial that is the largest pharmaceutical company and is based in Porto as well as Immunethep and Biotrend that are both based in Coimbra. Biotechnology involves science and technology for developing innovative products. It is a sector that requires highly qualified teams and nearly 60% of employees are women that are under 35 years old. The Technological Park of Cantanhede is an example of how universities are working towards producing economic growth in the fields of science and technology. With the help of the universities of Coimbra and Aveiro, the municipality created a platform that is directly linked to industrial growth sectors. The Park, which includes research companies that account for 40% of the sector of biotechnology in Portugal, showcases how government policies are shaping Portugal’s economic future. Source: https://www.portugalbusinessesnews.com/post/biopharmaceutical-portugal