On the sofa with... María Varela | State Research Agency

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING. – WHAT INNOVATIVE MATERIALS ARE HAVING THE GREATEST IMPACT ON THE TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES?

MARÍA VARELA.- From fields such as materials for biomedicine, biomaterials and dental implants, bone implants, nanoparticles for drugs to treat diseases, to materials for electronics, semiconductors (which are the great classics), magnetic materials for applications such as memory, and, of course, structural materials. Traditional steels, polymers and, once again, biomaterials for tissues.

There is significant investment in additive manufacturing, which is a way of making materials ‘on demand’ without standards, since sometimes you need a material that is a little harder, a little softer, a little more transparent… than the material available. Right now, this can be manufactured on demand. Each field has its star.

A.M.- HOW DOES THE STATE RESEARCH AGENCY SUPPORT COMPANIES SEEKING TO INNOVATE IN THIS FIELD?

M.V.- The State Research Agency first manages the evaluation, and then the granting and monitoring of financial aid for research. Within the framework of the work carried out by private industry and companies, there are several competitive calls for proposals, both in terms of human resources, for example, for industrial doctorates, someone who carries out their doctoral thesis within the work of a company, such as the Torres Quevedo call for proposals for the incorporation of doctors into industry to carry out tasks that require the specific technical knowledge that a doctor has.

And then there are programmes already dedicated to basic funding, usually in conjunction with, for example, universities or public research bodies, such as the public-private partnership programme or the transmission programme, which are dedicated to promoting synergies and consolidating consortia that include both public research institutions and large companies and small SMEs to advance specific topics.