The 2025 call reaches a total funding of more than €77.5 million to strengthen research centres and units with high international impact.
· Ten centres receive accreditation as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence and six units as a María de Maeztu Unit of Excellence.
· The programme grants €4.5 million to each Severo Ochoa centre and €2.25 million to each María de Maeztu unit to develop their strategic plans over four years.
· The call also includes funding for 142 predoctoral contracts, linked to the strategic research lines of the accredited centres and units.
The State Research Agency (AEI), a body attached to the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), presents today in Valencia, at the Cubo Azul Auditorium of the Universitat Politècnica de València, the 16 accreditations of the 2025 call for Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence and María de Maeztu Units of Excellence, the seals that recognise some of the research centres and units with the greatest international scientific impact in Spain.
With this award, the AEI recognises institutions of excellence that stand out for the quality of their research, their scientific leadership, their capacity to attract talent and their contribution to the advancement of knowledge. The 2025 call has a total funding of €77.5 million, the largest amount ever allocated to this programme. Of the total awarded, €58.5 million is earmarked for the institutional strengthening of the accredited centres and units through the implementation of their strategic plans. A further €19 million is added for the recruitment of predoctoral research staff, which will allow 142 new contracts linked to strategic research lines to be created.
The programme distinguishes between two types of accreditation. Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence correspond to research centres with autonomy and a consolidated scientific track record, while María de Maeztu Units of Excellence recognise units, departments or research institutes with high-impact research activity. In both cases, the accreditation is valid for a maximum of six years and the funding allows strategic plans to be developed over four years. Each centre accredited as Severo Ochoa will receive €4.5 million, while each María de Maeztu unit will receive €2.25 million. These grants are aimed at strengthening scientific organisation, consolidating capacities, driving new research lines, attracting talent, improving international competitiveness and fostering the training of new generations of researchers.
The selection of centres and units is carried out through competitive assessment, by means of an independent evaluation process involving international scientific committees made up of researchers of recognised prestige. The call recognises both the results obtained during the reference period and the ambition and feasibility of the strategic plans submitted.
Foto: Representantes de centros acreditados Convocatoria de 2025.
Accredited centres and units
In the 2025 call, the following have received accreditation as Severo Ochoa Centres of Excellence:
· Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), in Navarre.
· Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas P. Yufera (IBMCP), in the Comunitat Valenciana.
· Instituto de Física Teórica (IFT), in the Community of Madrid.
· Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG), in Catalonia.
· Centre de Recerca en Agrigenòmica (CRAG), in Catalonia.
· Institut d’Investigació Oncològica de Vall d’Hebron (VHIO), in Catalonia.
· Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)
· IMDEA Energía, in the Community of Madrid.
· Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), in the Community of Madrid.
· IMDEA Nanociencia, in the Community of Madrid.
The following have been accredited as María de Maeztu Units of Excellence:
· Centro de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares (CiQUS), in Galicia.
· Departamento de Ingeniería Aeroespacial de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (DAE), en la Comunidad de Madrid.
· Departamento de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra (DPSS), en Cataluña.
· Instituto de Física de Cantabria (IFCA), in Cantabria.
· Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros (CEMFI), in the Community of Madrid.
· Centro de Investigación Cooperativa en Nanociencia (CIC nanoGUNE), in the Basque Country.
Five of the recognised centres and units receive this accreditation for the first time: CIMA, IBMCP, CiQUS, the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, DAE, and the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra, DPSS. In addition, four institutions renew their accreditation for the fourth time: CRG, IFT, IAC and CNIC.
A map of high-impact research
The accredited centres and units make up a map of excellent research spanning fields such as biomedicine, oncology, cardiovascular research, plant biology, genomics, astrophysics, theoretical physics, nanoscience, energy, aerospace engineering, economics and political and social sciences. The diversity of the areas recognised reflects the scope of the programme and its role as an instrument for the structural strengthening of the Spanish R&D&I system. Beyond funding specific projects, these grants allow centres and units to deploy medium-term strategies, strengthen their capacity for international attraction and consolidate scientific environments capable of generating high-impact results.
Photo: Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu accreditations.
Since its creation, the Severo Ochoa and María de Maeztu programme has become one of the AEI's main tools for driving frontier research in Spain. Its budget has grown steadily in recent years, rising from €42.6 million in 2018 to more than €77.5 million in the 2025 call. The 2026 call, now closed, has a budget of €80 million.
With the presentation of the accreditations in Valencia, the AEI reinforces institutional recognition of centres and units that act as a driving force for the Spanish scientific system, contribute to the training of research talent and project Spanish science on the international stage.
INFOGRAPHIC Centres of Excellence "Severo Ochoa" and Units of Excellence "María de Maeztu" 2025 call
Información adicional para prensa
About the State Research Agency (AEI)
The State Research Agency, an autonomous body of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, aims to promote scientific and technical research in all areas of knowledge through the efficient allocation of public resources; it is the largest funding body for research and innovation in Spain. In 2025, more than €1 billion is being funded in projects and grants for research and innovation across all research sectors, from the humanities to materials science and ICT, promoting knowledge transfer through various actions.