China Three Gorges Corp. (CTG) and Energias de Portugal SA (EDP) have formed a new partnership to come up with novel technologies for exploiting renewable sources of energy, and for power grids, CTG says.

The partners will set up the CTG European Innovation and Research and Development Center, and later transfer technologies developed there to China, CTG announced in writing on Tuesday.

CTG says a meeting online of a joint committee approved the deal last week.

The partners already give deserving Portuguese students scholarships to pursue postgraduate studies in China, CTG says.

The companies formed their first partnership 10 years ago, since when over 20 Chinese companies have together invested over 6 billion euros (about US$6.8 billion) in Portugal, according to the CTG announcement.