Creation of Aveiro TFZ

The government approved the creation of the Aveiro Technology Free Zone (“TFZ”) through Ordinance 119/2025/1 of March 18. The TFZ is intended for experimenting and testing communication and electronics technologies and systems in an operational environment. It was proposed by the consortium led by the University of Aveiro, whose operating regulations are attached to the ordinance. This TFZ is geographically limited to the Aveiro region and includes the air, estuary and maritime areas of the municipalities of Aveiro and Ílhavo, including the Mira navigation channels.

The management, operation, and maintenance of this zone will be the responsibility of the University of Aveiro, which leads a consortium comprising several entities, as mentioned above, including Aveiro Municipal Council, Ílhavo Municipal Council, the Telecommunications Institute, the Science and Innovation Park, TICE.PT, and the Aveiro Port Administration.

The Aveiro TFZ aims to be the main European infrastructure for experimenting and testing communication and electronics technologies and systems in an operational environment. Its mission is to facilitate and accelerate technological innovation by promoting collaboration between industry, academia, political agents, and end users. The Aveiro TFZ also aims to stimulate the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge to the economy, boosting competitiveness and innovation.

The sectors of activity involved are

• smart cities and ports;
• aeronautics and space (UASs and satellite communications);
• mobility and transport, including rail (rail infrastructure on the route between the Aveiro junction and the Port of Aveiro); and
• other sectors such as industry, tourism, health, environment and energy, agriculture and fisheries, and public and territorial administration.

The creation of the Aveiro TFZ provides several potentialities, including access to

• available and publicized infrastructure, equipment and services;
• a regulatory framework adapted with the involvement of the relevant regulatory bodies and legal certainty;
• monitoring and specialized technical and technological support;
• qualification and validation of technologies and systems; and
• resources and services for experimenting in urban, road, rail, and maritime environments.

This TFZ is focused on sectors of activity that depend on communications, such as mobility, health, energy, public and territorial administration, smart cities, space, and agriculture and fisheries, among others. The priority technologies are those resulting from the new generations of communications, including IoT communications, autonomous and robotic vehicles, cybersecurity, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and virtual and augmented reality, among others.

The creation of the Aveiro TFZ is a significant step for promoting technological innovation in Portugal, driving the economic and technological development of the Aveiro region and the country.

See more about the Technological free zone delimited for ocean-based renewable energy, Delimitation of Abrantes renewable energy technological free zone, and Viana do Castelo TFZ requirements.