The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it expects to sign two additional memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with European countries this year to promote research-and-development (R&D) collaboration under the A+ Corporate Innovation and R&D Enhancement program.
The ministry has already signed five MOUs with Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, the UK and France under the program, Department of Industrial Technology Director-General Kuo Chao-chung (郭肇中) told a news conference in Taipei.
The planned collaborations with two additional European countries would mainly focus on laser technology and another technology listed under Taiwan’s 10 major artificial intelligence (AI) projects, Kuo said.
Photo: Liao Chia-ning, Taipei Times
This year, the government aims to secure 25 international collaborative R&D projects under the program, he said.
Taiwan has reached out to 14 EU countries and secured 86 projects so far since the program was launched in 2014, he said.
The nations have established collaboration frameworks with Taiwan in the fields of semiconductors, optoelectronics, machinery, and information and communications technology through the program, and there remains significant room for cooperation in materials innovation and net zero emissions, as well as drones, robotics and low Earth orbit satellites, he said.
Under the program, the government subsidizes at least 40 percent of local firms’ R&D costs, which could be higher, but is less than 50 percent in certain cases — such as projects involving key national technologies, Kuo said.
The average subsidies typically amount to about NT$20 million (US$634,498) per project, he said.
The government has so far subsidized firms with a combined NT$1.4 billion, generating more than NT$4.2 billion in economic value, Kuo said.
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