FITEC — Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund

FITEC — Circular Economy Fund (seed)

Funds circular economy innovation projects that promote efficient materials reuse.

FITEC — Fundo para a Inovação, Tecnologia e Economia Circular (Innovation, Technology and Circular Economy Fund) is a Portuguese national funding mechanism managed by ANI — Agência Nacional de Inovação — with the central goal of advancing scientific and technological knowledge while accelerating the transition to a circular economy through cooperation among higher-education institutions, CTI interface centres, and companies. The fund supports activities targeting material and energy efficiency, waste reduction, and greenhouse gas emission cuts, and is structured around periodic competitive calls issued via tender procedures published on the ANI website. Budget is replenished by State Budget transfers, energy-certification fees, and other designated revenue sources; the total annual envelope is not publicly disclosed.

Eligible applicants include SMEs, higher-education institutions, and CTI centres (interface centers and technology-transfer organizations). The fund's sub-programs include the Deep2Start initiative, which combines innovation vouchers with access to a Deep Tech Fund for early-stage deep technology ventures. Deadlines vary by call and are not set on a fixed annual cycle — applicants must monitor the ANI calls calendar for active FITEC notices. The fund operates as an operational management role for ANI, which provides technical, administrative, and logistical support to call recipients.

FITEC is best suited to Portuguese SMEs and academic institutions with projects at the intersection of advanced technology and circular economy objectives — particularly those involving material substitution, industrial symbiosis, energy loop closure, or waste valorization. Organizations with prior CTI-centre partnerships or deep-tech IP at early TRL stages may find the Deep2Start voucher pathway a lower-barrier entry point before pursuing larger FITEC call funding.