Spanish Government Approves Eight Battery Production Projects
338.2 million in grants and 100 million in loans under the PERTE VEC II programme
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has published the resolution that definitively approves the first eight battery production projects that will receive support from the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE VEC II). The second call for Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation focused on batteries in its section on Electric and Connected Vehicles, a product considered strategic for the future of the automotive industry.
The companies that have received the Ministry's approval include BASF, Envision, Seat, Grupo Gestamp and Renault, and join Beecycle, Ford and Basquevolt, which have already received approval and accepted the proposed aid. Considering that the Gestamp group will receive PERTE VEC II aid for three projects and Renault for two, the number of projects definitively approved for the time being rises to eleven.
Final award
The new section of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan has definitively approved 338.2 million euros in grants and a further €100 million in loans. It has also provisionally approved a grant of 141,150 euros for Optimised Battery Systems.
In the case of BASF, the Ministry has partially supported its arguments in the project to build a new base metal refinery in La Canonja (Tarragona). The company will make an investment of 105.3 million euros and will receive a related grant of 15.7 million euros.
New plants
Ford will receive 37.6 million euros in grants for its new battery assembly plant serving 100% electric vehicles in Almusafes (Valencia), out of a total investment of 188 million euros. Basquebolt's cell manufacturing plant in Vitoria (Álava) will receive 14.7 million euros out of a total investment of 97.9 million euros.
The electric vehicle battery recycling plant to be built by Beecycle in Caparroso (Navarre) will receive an investment of 10.8 million euros and a grant of 1.6 million euros. Renault's two battery assembly projects, one at its Palencia plant and the other at its Valladolid plant, will receive an investment of 17.3 million euros and 3.4 million euros in subsidies.
Gigafactory in Extremadura
The biggest beneficiary of PERTE VEC II is Envision, with its huge battery factory in Navalmoral de la Mata (Cáceres). This project, with a planned investment of 1.31 billion euros, will receive a grant of 200 million euros and a loan of 100 million euros. The next one is Seat with its battery assembly line in Martorell (Barcelona), which will invest 238.57 million euros and receive 47.7 million euros in aid.
Finally, the Gestamp group will receive grants for three different projects. The investment of 50.5 million euros to assemble and passivate Battery Box Lower Covers in Palau-solità i Plegamans (Barcelona) will be compensated by aid of 7.58 million euros. The battery box assembly plant in Iruña de Oca (Alava) will receive an investment of 32.26 million euros and aid of 4.8 million euros, and another similar plant in Almusafes (Valencia) will receive an investment of 33.38 million euros and five million euros in aid.
Photo: Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan