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With the creation of the STEP Platform, the European Union defined a set of technologies classified as critical for European sovereignty. These technologies constitute the backbone and fundamental basis of all STEP notices launched within the scope of Portugal 2030, representing a paradigm shift in support for industrial innovation.
For a project to access increased support and obtain the prestigious Sovereignty Seal, it is no longer enough for it to be merely innovative, digitised, or efficient from an operational point of view. It is now mandatory that its core activity focuses on the research, development, or manufacturing of critical technologies.
In this article, we detail the technological domains that the European Commission has identified as vital for the continent's autonomy, serving as the technical and regulatory basis for the strategic framework of applications to Portugal 2030. A deep understanding of these criteria is the indispensable first step to transform an industrial investment into a key piece of European sovereignty, ensuring that capital is applied where the impact on strategic autonomy is maximal.
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The concept of "criticality" within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2024/795 is not a subjective metric or an industrial marketing term. For a technology to be eligible under STEP, it must meet, in a demonstrable and substantiated manner, one of two fundamental requirements that guarantee European added value. These criteria serve as a filter of excellence, ensuring that public capital is channelled to areas where the risk of external dependence compromises the economic security of the bloc.
The technology must represent a qualitative leap compared to the current state of the art in the Single Market. It is not about incremental innovation or conventional process improvements, but rather disruptive technologies that place European industry at the forefront of the global scale.
This pillar focuses on security of supply. The technology is critical if its development or manufacture on European soil directly contributes to the Union ceasing to depend on third countries — especially in supply chains that are vulnerable or dominated by geopolitical monopolies.
Without strict compliance with this binomial — disruptive innovation or strategic resilience — a project, however advanced it may be from a technological point of view, will not be able to enjoy the extraordinary benefits of the STEP platform, such as facilitated access to funding sources or the increased co-financing intensities provided for in Portugal 2030.
However, the fact that a project is not eligible under STEP does not invalidate its framing in the Incentive Systems for Business Competitiveness such as Productive Innovation, Internationalisation and Qualification, and in the case of Incentive Systems for Research and Development as is the case of Business R&D.
It is fundamental to underline that eligibility under the STEP Platform is not restricted only to companies that develop the final product or technology (such as the chip, the battery, or the drug). European sovereignty depends on the robustness and independence of the entire productive ecosystem.
Thus, companies that manufacture complementary equipment and critical components necessary for the viability of any of the technologies listed in this directory are also eligible. This scope ensures that the industrial base supporting innovation remains on European soil. Examples of eligibility in the value chain include:
By supporting suppliers of capital goods and components, STEP ensures that Europe does not replace a dependence on final products with a dependence on external machinery and tools.
The STEP Platform, through Portugal 2030, provides comprehensive support covering the entire technology life cycle, from Research and Development and Innovation (R&DI) — focused on the creation of new knowledge, prototyping, and technical validation — to Productive Innovation, intended for industrial scaling, creation of new manufacturing units, and implementation of cutting-edge production processes on national soil.
These supports are designed to boost the entire innovation ecosystem, with eligibility for application not only for SMEs and Large Enterprises (including Mid-caps), but also for ENESII (Non-Business Entities of the R&I System), such as universities and technological centres, especially in co-promotion projects. This framework allows for compensation of the high risk and intensive investment required by these leading sectors through subsidised conditions.
STEP Portugal 2030 - Everything you need to know.
Digital technologies are considered the "brain" of the new industrial economy. In the context of STEP, their criticality stems from the fact that they are enabling technologies: without mastery of hardware (chips) and software (AI/Quantum), all other sectors — from energy to health — remain hostage to infrastructures controlled by external powers.
Digital sovereignty is, therefore, the basis of economic security. It ensures that European data is processed securely, that our communication networks are resilient to cyberattacks, and that our industry can automate processes without depending on patents or components blocked by geopolitical tensions.
The domains selected for STEP in Portugal focus on the transition from basic digitisation to Deep-Tech. The goal is to support projects that solve complex engineering and science challenges, allowing for the birth of a new generation of European industrial champions.
For the scope of STEP, 6 priority digital technology domains have been defined:
Mathematical and computational models that allow machines to learn and make decisions based on data.
Deep Learning models for predictive analysis and automation.
Data processing on remote servers (Cloud) or directly at the source of the data (Edge).
Real-time fleet management, sensor data processing on assembly lines.
Devices that detect chemical, biological, or radiation stimuli with extreme sensitivity (Electro-optical, radar, chemical, biological, radiation, and distributed sensors; Magnetometers, magnetic gradiometers, and gravimeters; Underwater electric field sensors;)
Energy dependence on external fossil sources has proven to be one of the greatest geopolitical risks for Europe. Clean-Tech technologies are critical because they allow the transition to a sovereign energy system, based on renewable resources and decarbonised industrial processes.
Focused on green reindustrialisation and compliance with the Net-Zero Industry Act, these technologies are critical to ensuring the energy autonomy and climate leadership of the European Union. In this sense, we have grouped the technologies into 4 priority domains:
The European Union's recommendations highlight these technologies as critical to ensuring the physical resources necessary for STEP.
The third pillar of STEP has the strategic focus of repositioning Europe as a world leader in pharmaceutical production and the development of next-generation treatments. The criticality of this domain lies in the need to decentralise production to increase the speed of response, scalability, and security of European health chains.
Featured Technologies (Health Sovereignty)
Beyond conventional biotechnologies, STEP favours integrated platforms that merge the digital with the biological:
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