DIGITALIZA-CV and IVACE 2026 Grants for Industrial Digitalisation: A Practical Guide

DIGITALIZA-CV is the grant line from IVACE that funds digitalisation projects in industrial SMEs across the Valencian Community (Spain): ERP, process automation, shop floor sensorisation and artificial intelligence. In the 2026 call the grant reached up to EUR 175,000 per SME, with funding rates of 35 to 45% and a 75% advance. This guide explains what it covers, who can apply and, above all, how to turn the grant into a project that works on the shop floor.

What DIGITALIZA-CV is and who runs it

DIGITALIZA-CV is the industrial SME digitalisation grant programme of IVACE (Institut Valencià de Competitivitat Empresarial), the Valencian regional government agency that manages industry, innovation and energy policy. Unlike Kit Digital, Spain's national voucher scheme aimed at basic digitalisation with small amounts, DIGITALIZA-CV funds substantial projects: ERP implementations, line automation, machine data capture, industrial cybersecurity and artificial intelligence applications on production data.

Two features define the programme and are worth being clear about from the start. First: it is a non-repayable grant, not a loan. The company delivers the project, justifies the expenditure and receives the awarded percentage, with the notable detail that the 2026 call allowed a 75% advance on the grant without waiting for final justification. Second: the call is renewed every year. The terms can adjust amounts, deadlines and eligible costs, so the concrete figures in this guide always refer to the 2026 call, the latest published. Subsequent calls are announced annually, and until they appear in the DOGV (the Valencian official gazette) there are no official deadlines or amounts.

What it funds: ERP, automation, sensorisation and AI

The programme covers digitalisation projects for industrial operations. In practice, the four large blocks of expenditure that fit are these:

ERP implementation. Business management software is an eligible cost under DIGITALIZA-CV: licences, implementation consultancy, data migration and integration development. For an industrial SME running on spreadsheets or an obsolete ERP, this is probably the most common entry route. An open-source ERP such as Odoo, implemented with an industrial focus (manufacturing, inventory, quality, maintenance), lets the same budget cover more functional scope. At Captia we implement Odoo with exactly that focus: see how we work on our Odoo implementation in Valencia page and what our approach to Odoo for industry covers. If you are weighing up quotes, we have published an honest guide on how much implementing Odoo costs for an SME.

Automation of production processes. Robotisation of operations, line automation and automation of administrative processes tied to production. Here the investment range varies widely depending on the starting point; in our article on how much it costs to automate a production line we break down the factors that move the budget and which part qualifies as eligible expenditure.

Sensorisation and plant data capture. Sensors, gateways, PLC and SCADA connections, MES systems and dashboards built on real machine data. It is the type of project that turns OEE from an estimate into a measurement, and the one that usually takes shape as an industrial data platform.

Applied artificial intelligence. Demand forecasting models, automatic visual inspection, predictive maintenance. The call values AI grounded in the company's own operational data, which in practice requires having solved data capture first.

A well-conceived project usually combines several blocks: for example, ERP plus sensorisation of the critical lines, or automation plus the dashboard that measures its effect. If you are unsure where to start, our guide on how to digitalise a factory step by step lays out the full sequence.

2026 call: deadlines, amounts and funding rates

These are the verified figures from the 2026 call, the latest published. They serve as a realistic reference for what to expect in future calls, although each year's terms may vary:

Three practical readings of that table. First: the EUR 20,000 minimum budget excludes small projects, which is exactly Kit Digital's territory; DIGITALIZA-CV is designed for projects of substance. Second: with funding rates of 35 to 45%, the company always contributes the larger share of the investment, so the project has to stand on its operational return, not on the grant. And third: the 75% advance eases cash flow considerably, because the company does not finance the whole project alone until justification.

On timing: the calls of IVACE's digitalisation cluster have historically been published early in the year, with application windows in spring. The 2027 call has not yet been published; when it appears, we will update this guide with its official figures.

Who can apply

The natural recipient of DIGITALIZA-CV is an SME with industrial activity and a production site in the Valencian Community. The 2026 call also opened the door to mid-cap companies, with a lower grant cap. The usual requirements of any public grant apply here too: being up to date with the tax authority and social security, not being in difficulty within the meaning of State aid rules, and delivering the project within the period the terms set.

More relevant than the formal requirement is the real fit: the grant rewards projects with a solid technical memorandum, measurable objectives and an identified supplier. A 15-person SME with a well-defined ERP implementation competes better than a larger company with a diffuse project. Evaluation is competitive, not every applicant is funded, and the quality of the technical memorandum makes the difference.

From grant to delivered project

Here it is worth being direct about our role. Captia is not a grant consultancy: we do not process applications as a service. We are the implementer, the company that delivers the technical project the grant funds. The administrative filing is handled by the company itself or by the advisors it already works with; our part is that the project exists, is properly sized and works on the shop floor.

That distinction matters because the correct order is project first, grant second. The flow we recommend:

1. Diagnosis. Before writing a memorandum, you need to know what hurts: where the operation loses time, which data is missing, which process generates the most cost. Our operational diagnostic produces exactly that map.
2. Project definition. Scope, phases, budget and measurable objectives. This document is at once the implementation plan and the raw material for the application's technical memorandum.
3. Application. With the project defined, the application is submitted within the call's window. The company or its advisors file it; the implementer supplies the technical documentation.
4. Delivery and justification. The project is delivered as submitted. Invoices, deliverables and implementation evidence form the basis of the justification before IVACE.

The advantage of this order is twofold: if the grant is awarded, it funds a project that was already justified by its return; if it is not, the project still makes sense and the company decides with data whether to deliver it anyway, postpone it or resize it. To size that decision, our analysis of how much it costs to digitalise an industrial company can help.

Typical mistakes when applying

Applying without a technical project behind it. The most common mistake and the most expensive. The application is written against the clock, with a generic scope copied from another memorandum, and if the grant is awarded the company finds itself obliged to deliver, on deadline, a project it never truly defined. The usual result is a rushed implementation or a withdrawal with the grant already awarded.

Sizing the project to maximise the grant. Inflating scope to get close to the grant cap produces oversized projects the organisation cannot absorb. The right size is set by the operation, not by the table of amounts.

Ignoring the delivery calendar. The terms set a deadline for delivery and justification. An ERP implementation with complex data migration, or an automation project with long machinery lead times, must be planned against that calendar from day one.

Confusing DIGITALIZA-CV with Kit Digital. They are different programmes with different logics: Kit Digital funds standard basic digitalisation solutions through vouchers; DIGITALIZA-CV funds bespoke projects with a minimum budget of EUR 20,000. The same company can benefit from both, but not to fund the same expenditure twice.

Neglecting the justification. The grant is only definitively collected when the justification is accepted. Invoices that do not match the memorandum, deliverables without evidence or uncommunicated scope deviations can end in repayment. Working with an implementer that documents the project systematically reduces that risk considerably.

Other IVACE programmes worth knowing

DIGITALIZA-CV is not the only IVACE line relevant to an industrial SME. Without going into specific terms, which change every year, the conceptual map is this: the institute maintains programmes for product and process innovation, support lines for industrialisation and, on the energy side, grants for efficiency and self-consumption. That last family deserves separate mention: if your plant consumes energy during daylight hours, IVACE's photovoltaic self-consumption grants complement a digitalisation project naturally, because they attack the other big operating cost line. We have published a specific guide to IVACE's self-consumption grants and a technical guide to industrial self-consumption explaining how to size the installation.

The operational recommendation: review IVACE's map of calls once a year, at the start of the year, which is when the digitalisation cluster's terms have historically been published. And plan the projects before the window opens, not while it is already running.

Frequently asked questions about DIGITALIZA-CV

If you are thinking of applying to the next call, the best time to start is now, with the diagnosis and the project definition. Tell us about your case on the contact page or see how we run the operational diagnostic with which every well-conceived project begins.