Stellantis España has been the group with the most projects approved in the second call for proposals aimed at battery production projects relating to electric vehicles. These subsidies, promoted by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, are part of the Strategic Project to develop electric and connected vehicles (PERTE VEC).

The aid that Stellantis España will receive will amount to 66.3 million euros out of a total investment of around 333 million euros. The motor vehicle manufacturer's most important project will be the battery gigafactory in Figueruelas (Zaragoza), with a budget of around 280 million euros, of which it will receive 56 million euros. The so-called Antares project will also create around 3,000 jobs.

Assembly and production lines
An assembly and production line for electric vehicle batteries will also be set up in Figueruelas. It has a budget of 16.6 million euros, 3.3 million euros of which will be subsidised by the PERTE VEC II. A second assembly and production line for electric vehicle batteries will be located at the Stellantis España plant in Vigo (Pontevedra). In this case, it will receive public aid of 6.7 million euros out of a budget of around 34 million euros.

The fourth project with which Stellantis España has been selected in the second call under the plan is a third battery line, in this case for assembly only, at the company's plant in Madrid. The budget exceeds 2.3 million euros and will receive a grant of 354,000 euros.

Incentivising investment
PERTEs (Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation) are part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and are financed through NextGenerationEU funds. The objective of the second call under the PERTE VEC is to encourage investment to boost the industrial production of batteries for electric vehicles, as well as their essential components and the recovery of essential raw materials needed.

According to the proposal for the final resolution published by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, 26 projects submitted by 21 companies have been selected in the second call. This involves payouts of 528.7 million euros in the form of grants, plus another 100 million euros in the form of credit.

Motor vehicle manufacturers
Among the projects selected are those presented by major motor vehicle manufacturers, such as Seat, which will receive around 48 million euros for a battery assembly line in Martorell (Barcelona) in which it will invest 240 million euros. Ford will also receive aid for its battery assembly plant in Almussafes (Valencia), namely 37.2 million euros out of a total budget of 188 million euros.

Renault's two battery assembly lines, in Villamuriel de Cerrato (Palencia) and Valladolid, will receive aid of 1.7 million, with the bankable budget amounting to 8.5 million euros for each of the projects. Other big international names on the list include Germany's BASF, China's Envision and Korea's Lotte Energy Materials Spain.

The Ministry of Industry will soon launch the third call under the PERTE VEC, which in this case will distribute more than 1.2 billion euros in incentives.

^{Photo: Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan
Link: https://www.investinspain.org/es/noticias/2023/prtr-auto}