Torres Quevedo: hire researchers with a CDTI grant

The Torres Quevedo (PTQ) programme funds up to 70% of the cost of employing a doctorate holder in your company for three years. Managed by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, the Spanish state research agency) within the Plan Estatal de Investigación Científica, Técnica y de Innovación 2024-2027, it is one of the most attractive grants for bringing research talent into the private sector.

The call is published every year, usually between November and December, with a budget that reached €20.1 million in the 2025 edition (AEI, 2025). If your company needs R&D&I capacity but cannot absorb the full cost of a doctoral profile, this grant may be the answer.

What the Torres Quevedo programme is and what it is for

Torres Quevedo funds the employment of people holding a doctorate so that they can run R&D&I projects in companies and other private-sector bodies in Spain. The aim is twofold: to improve researchers' employability and to strengthen the innovative capacity of Spanish companies.

The doctorate holders taken on must work on one of these three types of project:

• Industrial research: generating knowledge to develop new or improved products, processes or services
• Experimental development: prototypes, pilot runs, validation in a real environment
• Feasibility studies: technical assessments and opportunity analysis ahead of an R&D project

The grant runs for three years, during which the company receives funding to cover part of the researcher's salary and Spanish Social Security costs.

Who can apply for a Torres Quevedo grant?

Eligible organisations

• Companies of any size (including spin-offs and Jóvenes Empresas Innovadoras, young innovative companies)
• Technology centres
• Technology innovation support centres
• Business associations
• Science and technology parks

Each organisation can file a maximum of three applications, each with a different researcher, in every call.

Requirements for the researcher

• Hold a doctorate on the date of application
• Not have had an employment relationship with the applicant organisation in the 12 months before the call (with exceptions for spin-offs and JEI)
• Not hold a controlling stake in the applicant company
• Not appear in more than one application at the same time

Do you have an R&D&I project and need to bring in a doctorate holder? Our CDTI grant management team will help you prepare the application.

How much it funds: amounts and percentages by company size

The grant covers a percentage of the annual cost of employing the researcher. The maximum fundable cost is €56,000 a year per contract (gross salary plus the employer's Spanish Social Security contribution). The minimum eligible salary is €29,070 gross a year.

The grant rates vary with the type of project and the size of the company:

For a small SME with an industrial research project, the grant can reach €39,200 a year (70% of €56,000), which is €117,600 over the three years the programme lasts.

Can it be combined with other grants?

Torres Quevedo has specific compatibility rules:

• R&D&I tax deductions: compatible. The researcher's staff cost can go into the base of the R&D deduction under Article 35 LIS, after subtracting the grant received.
• The 40% Social Security contribution reduction: not compatible for the same researcher whose contract is already funded by Torres Quevedo. It does apply to other researchers in the company who are not funded by the programme.

How to apply, step by step

1. Identify the researcher: find a candidate with a doctorate and the right profile for your R&D&I project
2. Define the project: write a technical report on the industrial research, experimental development or feasibility study
3. Prepare the application: fill in the AEI form with the company documentation, the researcher's CV and the project report
4. File on time: the call usually opens in November or December with a window of 3–4 weeks
5. Sign the contract: once the grant is awarded, formalise the employment contract with the researcher

The AEI assesses applications on the scientific and technical quality of the project, the capacity of the company and how well the researcher's profile fits.

Torres Quevedo and the Sello PYME Innovadora: added benefits

Companies awarded a Torres Quevedo grant automatically receive the Sello PYME Innovadora, the Spanish innovative SME seal, from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. That mark unlocks further advantages:

• Better tax treatment: full compatibility between Social Security contribution reductions and R&D&I tax deductions for companies holding the seal
• Priority access to grants: some calls require the seal
• An edge in public tenders: an extra scoring criterion in public procurement
• Institutional recognition: commercial and advertising use of the mark

In practice, Torres Quevedo becomes the way into a wider ecosystem of R&D&I incentives: a grant for the researcher, a tax deduction for the projects they run, the innovative SME seal and access to programmes such as CDTI Neotec or CDTI grants.

What is the next step?

The next Torres Quevedo call is expected in the last quarter of 2026. Preparing the application early — identifying the researcher, defining the project and gathering the paperwork — is what separates a competitive application from one that misses out.

At Tecnocim Innova we have spent more than 30 years helping companies reach R&D&I grants in Spain. We can help you assess whether Torres Quevedo fits your strategy, write the technical report and maximise your chances of being awarded one.

Contact us to plan your application.