Strategic alliance: Introducing the Chile-Finland platform for Development and Technological Transfer
- The project will last five years and will be implemented jointly by the Fundación Chile and the VTT Technical center of Finland.
- The initiative includes a total budget that will exceed US$50 million.
Chile and Finland announced today the launch of an alliance that seeks to promote both countries’ global leadership in the development of innovative technological solutions and new businesses focused on sustainable mining, decarbonization and climate change adaptation, and the sustainability of relevant economic sectors.
The alliance will be materialized through the initiative called the Chile-Finland Platform for Technological Development and Transfer, approved by the Council of the Production Development Corporation (Corfo) in its session on August 4. Its purpose will be to strengthen local capacities for the development, adaptation, and scaling of high-impact technologies for decarbonization and climate change adaptation, driving co-creation and co-innovation efforts among companies and strategic productive sectors, regional governments, technology transfer centers, and other relevant actors from the Chilean ecosystem, as well as companies and R&D institutions from Finland, mobilizing talent and promoting science- and technology-based ventures.
The project is part of the Government of Chile’s efforts, through Corfo, to advance productive transformation and sustainable development based on the challenges and opportunities that the triple environmental crisis creates for the country across various industrial activities, technologies, and new businesses. This is complemented by Finland’s interest, as one of the most developed countries in the world and a leader in innovation, in participating in global value chains associated with sustainability, standing out for its experience in the development of clean technologies, circular economy, and sustainable management of natural resources.
“We deeply value Finland’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and international cooperation, and we recognize in this relationship a strategic opportunity to diversify our productive matrix, strengthen our research, development, and innovation ecosystem, and move toward a knowledge-based economy. This approach is fully aligned with our foreign policy, which seeks to build bridges to promote projects that allow us to achieve a tangible and lasting impact on Chile’s development,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Alberto van Klaveren. “We trust that this collaboration will strengthen the bilateral relationship and contribute sustainably and permanently to the progress of our nations and the well-being of our communities,” he added.
The Platform will have an initial duration of five years and will be financed with up to US$20 million by Corfo, through the R&D contribution from lithium contracts, similar to “seed capital” to support its establishment and development. The project’s total budget, meanwhile, will exceed US$50 million thanks to the leveraging of resources from the Finnish ecosystem and other national and international funding sources.
“This agreement with Finland allows us to make progress on a historic challenge: growing more, generating quality jobs, and, at the same time, reducing environmental impact. It is a concrete alliance, focused on strategic sectors such as sustainable mining and backed by committed resources, which seeks to turn innovation and technology into real benefits for our countries,” stated the Minister of Economy, Development, and Tourism, Nicolás Grau.
Meanwhile, Finland’s Ambassador to Chile, Johanna Kotkajärvi, stated that “Finland’s innovation model is based on a collaborative approach among the public sector, the private sector, and research centers, and we believe it is very important to foster international collaboration to continue strengthening innovation ecosystems. Sustained investment in R&D has been fundamental to Finland’s transformation into the innovative country we know today, and we see great opportunities for Chile in this binational alliance, which leverages national and international resources for sustainable development and technology transfer with real impact.”
For his part, Corfo’s Executive Vice President, José Miguel Benavente, explained that “over the past decades, and through various public policy instruments, the State has promoted the strengthening of Chile’s research, development, and innovation (R&D&I) ecosystem, seeking to generate a greater supply of knowledge and technological development capacities. However, various evaluations and global innovation rankings show that the country still faces weaknesses in the scaling and commercialization of technological solutions, as well as insufficient alignment of R&D&I efforts with the needs and challenges of the productive sector. This requires interventions such as the one we are presenting today, with a sectoral or value-chain logic, to improve competitiveness and create sustainable economies that benefit society and the environment in the medium and long term.”
Fundación Chile and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
The project Platform will be jointly implemented by Fundación Chile and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, which is dependent on the Ministry of Economy and Employment of the Republic of Finland, one of Europe’s leading technological research and development institutions.
The role of both entities will be to accomplish the main objectives of the initiative: to transfer the technical knowledge and experience of Finland to strengthen the R&D, innovation, and entrepreneurship ecosystems in Chile; to advance in sophistication and scaling of Chilean companies and ventures through technological co-development between Finland and Chile; and to increase the exportation from Chile of technological solutions, contributing to position both countries as global suppliers capable of addressing productive, environmental, and social challenges in the value chains of key industries.
During its implementation, the project will advance in three strategic lines: sustainable mining (where ENAMI will act as a key ally), intelligent, sustainable and resilient territorial development, and a systemic approach to high-potential industries for decarbonisation.
The General Manager of Fundación Chile, Hernán Araneda, stated that “this platform marks a before and after for Chile. We are taking on the leadership of this binational network with commitment, reinforcing our purpose of contributing to sustainable economic development. Through this alliance, Fundación Chile will have new technological capabilities to drive the development of science- and technology-based ventures, connecting supply and demand for sophisticated innovation in key areas to address climate change and foster new industries sustainably.”
From the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, its Executive Vice President for Carbon Neutrality, Jussi Manninen, together with the Business Development Manager in the same area, Andro Lindsay, emphasized that “we firmly believe in the power of international collaboration to advance science, technological development, and impactful innovation. To succeed, we must create the right conditions to catalyze companies’ R&D activities. This public investment from Corfo should spur significant private R&D investments, combining the strengths of Finland’s technological ecosystem with Chile’s productive potential to co-develop sustainable solutions to shared systemic challenges—solutions that can scale globally while also generating tangible benefits for Chilean society. This platform represents an unprecedented opportunity to connect talent, technology, and vision on a global scale, turning shared challenges into groundbreaking innovations with real and measurable impact.”
Fundación Chile will be the recipient of the R&D Contribution and, as such, will be primarily responsible before Corfo for enabling the articulation of the ecosystems of both countries, allowing for the participation of business sectors and various relevant public and private stakeholders in the prioritized topics, with a focus on the later stages of technological development—enhancing and bringing solutions to different industries, working closely with demand and the real challenges of the various sectors.
