FINEP CT-INFRA / Thematic Centers (Centros Temáticos) Research Infrastructure Grants

FINEP CT-INFRA, also known as Centros Temáticos, provides non-reimbursable grants to ICTs, the Brazilian scientific, technological, and innovation institutions that include public or private research bodies and university centres. It is funded through FNDCT and is designed to build thematic research infrastructure and applied-research capacity in national priority areas. The 2025 call, Pesquisa Aplicada em Centros Temáticos 2025, allocates R$ 500 million across six strategic areas aligned to Nova Indústria Brasil. Project grants run from R$ 3 million to R$ 10 million over up to 36 months, and each ICT may submit only one proposal as principal executor. Eligibility is narrow: research organisations are required, universities are allowed, for-profit companies are not eligible as principal executors, and applicants must be based in Brazil. Thirty percent of the 2025 pool was reserved for Norte, Nordeste, and Centro-Oeste. This programme is a strong fit for institutions building shared laboratories, centres, platforms, or other durable research assets rather than company-level product development. Successful applications are likely to show how the infrastructure serves a national priority, how the institution can manage a multi-year project, and how the investment will widen research capacity beyond one organisation. It is a public research infrastructure route, not a commercial grant for operating businesses.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.