Major Tech Hub for Canaries Approved for Tenerife’s ITER
The Canary Islands’ major new technology centre will be located at the Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies (ITER), an entity of the Tenerife Island Council. The definitive step to realise this project is the reorganisation of the urban planning space at its headquarters in Granadilla de Abona. This is the purpose of the announcement published in the Official Bulletin of the Canary Islands (BOC), opening a 45-working-day period of public consultation on the strategic environmental study document that ratifies these changes.
Streamlining the Site for Future Growth
The initiative is one of the most important for the Department of Innovation and responds to a growing sector that already provides jobs for 15,700 people in Tenerife, according to data from a study presented today. The island’s councillor for the area, Juan José Martínez, considers this “a necessary step to regularise the planning of the ITER building complex, as well as its current various uses.” Most importantly, he stresses, it will enable “the development of plots available for facilities for a technology centre, for R&D and for renewable energy production.”
In the full session of the Tenerife Island Council last November, a minor modification to the Tenerife Insular Planning Plan (PIOT) for the ITER industrial estate was approved. The goal is to update its planning; reduce plots from 14 to 4 to adapt it to the current reality of renewable energy research and development; and resolve the situation of the bioclimatic houses and the animal centre, which sparked debate over their use and compatibility with ITER’s main activity, though it was approved by a majority.
AI-Powered Renewable Energy Platform
In relation to the entity’s growth initiatives, ITER and the Galician technology centre ITG signed an agreement to develop a platform to manage the storage and generation of renewable energy. This agreement will allow both institutions to combine their capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), advanced monitoring, renewable energies, and deployment of energy infrastructure to accelerate the sector’s digitalisation and move towards more efficient and sustainable models.
The new platform will be oriented towards the integration and optimised management of energy resources—including renewable generation, storage, and flexible loads—using AI algorithms, digital twins, and advanced control tools. Its development will leverage the experimental facilities, energy laboratories, and microgrid networks that both ITER and ITG have operational in Tenerife and Galicia.
Tenerife Leads in Innovation and Employment
Juan José Martínez noted that of the 15,705 jobs linked to R&D&I activities in Tenerife, “almost 1,600 have been generated in the last two years,” those of the current island mandate of CC and PP, which represents “a very important proportion, more than 10%, since we have been promoting this type of policy on the Island under the leadership of our president Rosa Dávila.”
The Institute of Technology and Renewable Energies occupies half a million square metres in the middle of the hostile landscape of the south of the island, in the municipality of Granadilla de Abona, forming the largest public scientific laboratory in all of Macaronesia. A meeting point for innovation, development, and research—the famous R&D&I equation related to technological capability and, therefore, the advancement of a society.
ITER is a public company, with majority participation from the Island Council, which since 1990 has worked in the fields of research and development for the use of renewable energy sources, implementation of new technologies, and the environment. The Institute is divided into major areas: Renewables, Engineering and Environment, in addition to several facilities dedicated to disseminating its activities and informing about its research.
Strong Growth in Tech and Audiovisual Sectors
Tenerife leads innovation and employment in R&D&I, as demonstrated by the fact that in 2025, 51% of the sector’s companies in the Canaries were based on the island, which concentrates 68.5% of the employment. This was explained by the island’s president, Rosa Dávila, accompanied by the councillor for Research, Innovation and Development of the Island Council, Juan José Martínez, and the director of Consultancy at Corporación 5, José Miguel González, author of the regional study whose results they detailed.
Tenerife has become the technological ‘hub’ of the Archipelago in recent years, as well as an attractive ‘ecosystem’ for new investors diversifying the economy, such as in audiovisual. There are still “challenges” for the sector to increase its effectiveness and consolidate, but this work shows notable growth both in the number of companies and in the creation of qualified jobs.
According to the report, between 2020 and 2025 Tenerife experienced a 45.7% increase in the number of companies dedicated to R&D activities, reaching a total of 35. This increase reinforces the island as a key centre for driving the knowledge economy and developing innovative projects in various technological areas.
President Rosa Dávila emphasised that “these figures show that Tenerife is advancing with firm steps towards a knowledge-based economy.” She added that “growth in sectors like technology and innovation is proof of the work to strengthen our island’s competitiveness.”
“We are committed to continuing to be leaders in R&D&I and to creating opportunities for our companies and professionals,” Dávila stated. “Innovation is the key to a more prosperous and sustainable future for Tenerife,” she underlined before concluding: “Our responsibility is to continue driving this transformation.”
Employment Soars as Hub Status Solidifies
Employment related to innovation in Tenerife recorded a 42% increase between November 2020 and November 2025, reaching 15,705 workers in the sector. This growth is especially relevant in R&D activities, where Tenerife concentrates 68.5% of the employment generated in the Canary Islands. The technology sector experienced a 26.8% increase, with a significant number of companies dedicated to programming, consultancy, and information services.
On the other hand, the audiovisual sector also recorded notable growth, with 53.2% more companies in Tenerife between 2023 and 2025. Regarding the most prominent sectors, the technology industry has doubled in size since 2012, consolidating Tenerife as a regional tech hub. Meanwhile, the audiovisual sector has shown sustained growth, reaching 139 companies in 2025, representing 55.1% of the Canary Islands’ total.
Councillor Juan José Martínez explained that “these figures reflect the confidence that companies have in Tenerife as a favourable environment for developing new ideas.” Besides the positive impact on employment, Tenerife continues to consolidate itself as the main attraction pole for innovative projects in the Canaries.
Addressing Remaining Challenges
The island reflected a 31.8% increase in the number of companies linked to R&D&I activities in recent years, underlining the dynamism of the Tenerife business ecosystem. Martínez also specified that Santa Cruz de Tenerife, as a province, is “well below” its capacity to absorb funds from the CDTI, the main channel for state and European resources to develop innovative activities.
The Island Council has requested the entity to homologate the Tenerife Science and Technology Park (PCTT) as an information and funding programme management agency so that island companies have an interlocutor “much closer and more linked” to their activity.
The report’s author, José Miguel González, highlighted that in recent years there has been a 125% growth in Social Security contributions in the field of R&D&I. Despite advances, challenges remain that require attention, especially in sectors like the chemical and pharmaceutical industry, which has shown a slight contraction in recent years. However, the machinery, equipment, and vehicle manufacturing sector, although in decline, retains strategic potential as a driver of industrial modernisation on the island, especially in the context of the transition towards more sustainable production processes.
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