BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help INNOVATIVE REGIONS: PROMOTING SMEs THROUGH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT KEEP COMPETITIVENESS, BY PROMOTING R&D HOT SPOTS

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION Castilla-la Mancha is a region located in the central part of Spain, it is mainly formed by a not too high plateau of nearly km 2 surrounded by mountains. It has a mediterranean climate with extreme features: very hot summer, with temperatures that often reach 35 ºC, and water shortage along the whole year. Its nearly 2 million inhabitans represent the 4,3% of the Spanish population. It has a population density of about 24,3 inhabitants per square kilometer, one of the lowest in Spain. Agriculture and livestock represent the main part of our production, but nowadays industry is increasing its importance in some locations: those very close to Madrid, and those which we have called “hot spots”, spread around our region: Puertollano, Talavera de la Reina, Albacete or Almansa.

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help INDUSTRIAL AREAS

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help INDUSTRIAL MAP Castilla-La Mancha represents the 3,4 % of the Spanish Gross Domestic Product (GDP), what amounts more than 33 million €. and places us as the ninth region of the country. Regional GPD growth in the last ten years has been faster than the spanish average values. The distribution of regional GPD is the following: Agriculture 11,64% Industry 14,95% Energy 3,44% Construction 10,06% Services 49,78%. Agriculture is mainly based on wheat, vine and olive oil. Historically, Castilla-La Mancha has lacked of a relevant industrial network. Although since our joining to the EU the number of enterprises in our region has grown up significantly, we still have to solve several disadvantages: Enterprises are located in a too wide geographical area, and they belong to very different industrial sectors. Small size of our industry, SMEs and family business in most of the cases, we lack of big, R&D industries. Low R&D investment. Deficit in infrastructures. No exporting tradition.

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help RESEARCH CAPACITY The regional research capabilities are focused on its university and on the research centres depending on it. They also rely on two large scientific facilities located in our region: The astronomical observatory of Yebes, and the National Center for Hydrogen of Puertollano. The regional University was founded in 1982, now it is formed by 7 campus, and offers 64 different qualification opportunities to its around students, 200 of whom are in their doctoral stage and 25 following international postdoc studies financed by regional grants.

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help CAPACITY IN TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER The Albacete Science and Technology Park is our main infrastructure devoted to promotion of relationship between university and industry and among enterprises themselves. The project of Albacete Science and Technology Park in Albacete emerged at the end of the year 2001 when the Foundation Albacete of Science and Technology Park was created, sponsored by the Regional Council, the Regional University, the Town Hall and the Albacete Provincial Council. The ideas that define the identity of the Park are the following: To improve the process of technology and innovation transfer. To back High Technology strategic sectors. To design the project according to the model of sustainable development. To foster the creation of innovative enterprises. To achieve an appropriate town-planning that favours the relationship company-company and company-university. To design a highly populated area with modern infrastructures and which is integrated in the town.

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help SO WHAT CAN WE DO IN THIS SCENARIO? Enterprises located in a too wide geographical area, belonging to very different industrial sectors. Very small enterprise size Low R&D investment WE NEED TO CREATE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT “HOT SPOTS” BASED ON GEOGRAPHICAL OR INDUSTRIAL NEEDS AND CAPACITIES

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help THE R&D “HOT SPOT” OF PUERTOLLANO Its economy was based for many years on the extraction of coal and today is the most industrial city of Castilla-La Mancha with chemical firms as Repsol or Fertiveria and two thermal power stations. Nowadays, its economy is deeply changing due to the installation of a large number of companies related to the production of alternative energy, particularly solar panels, and very recently hydrogen-based energy production. We now call Puertollano “The Energy City” and we pretend it will become an example of changing old dirty sources of energy, into modern, environment friendly, ways of energy production.

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help THE SOLAR “HOT SPOT” OF PUERTOLLANO INSTITUTE FOR CONCENTRATION PHOTOVOLTAICS SYSTEMS  Engineering support  Maintenance support  Measurements: rating and productivity  Reporting  Standard Development - IEC  DNI data reporting  Participation in R&D projects  Training  Dissemination  QC implementation  Legal support  CPV Business Model To become a centre of reference that provides reliable information to the entire world on the power and productivity of commercial CPV systems. Train a group of experts capable of promoting both high level research and local industrial development by means of setting up pilot photovoltaic concentration plants.

BRUSSELS 2008 JUNTA DE COMUNIDADES DE CASTILLA-LA MANCHA INNOVATION: Obstacles and solutions for SME´s. How can regional policy help THE HIDROGEN “HOT SPOT” OF PUERTOLLANO The Hidrogen National Centre is a new scientific research and Tecnology facility created as a consortium of the spanish ministry of science and innovation and the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha. It was stablished on December 19th 2007 in Puertollano. Its main objectives are: to lead the regional strategy on hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, combining research activities and technology stakeholders to benefit the industrial sectors involved and to promote “lighthouse projects”. The Centre is formed by several R&D units devoted to: Hy production, storage and distribution, purification and separation and Hy applications. These units are developing projects on fuel cell technologies, including proton exchange membrane fuel cells, solid oxid fuel cells, direc- metrhanol fuel cells, phosphoric acid fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells, prototypes.. etc. -