It wasn’t in August and it doesn’t look like a gigafactory. Estremadura -Projected in Navalmoral de la Mata (Cáceres) – neither will happen In the final decision of the Ministry of Industry on projects to be financed with 2,975 million next week part of electric vehicle (known as PERTE VEC). There is no official data yet, but Minister Reyes Maroto confirmed it yesterday. the evaluation commission has already approved a public investment of 877.2 million (will mobilize investments of 2,250 million euros in the sector)170 million more than approved in the first resolution of August and represents only 29.5% of the funding estimate.
That’s not a huge increase and in recent weeks, the head of Industries (15 million) at Stellantis this Thursday; that of Figueruelas (Zaragoza) two weeks ago, only a “significant” increase over the approximately 43 million already secured there; or that of Madrid, which is sure to have the funds. It is indisputable that there will be an important share for the Volkswagen gigafactory, which has been demanding more in recent days. Amount allocated in the interim decision: 167 million, the largest item of the 10 projects that first approved the assessment.
PERTE is “not mandatory” and “constricts a lot” Vara says about this financing method
It is unknown what will happen to Envisión and its cell factory in Extremadura, but there is little room for it to enter and even less for the company to have the funds it wishes to finance the investment in its project; They are targeting 1,000 million and at least 300.
At the first screening in August, with 707 million prizes awarded, the Envision project in Extremadura had already been left out. The evaluation commission evaluated that the tractor project did not comply with the “required minimum structure of PERTE”; He said that “the tractor project’s fundable budget did not reach the minimum stated amount, given the primary projects that reached the technical feasibility threshold of the proposal. Both were considered mutually exclusive grounds; and although the company claimed, the fact is that it is working on different financing possibilities in parallel with the Junta de Extremadura and the Government.Regional Incentives, among them, the head of the Junta de Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara, already stated two weeks ago when he began to point out that PERTE’s final decision would not include the project led by the Chinese firm. and Acciona.
The small print of the final decision and the projects that eventually make it to the Resilience Plan’s helpline or not will be announced next week.. As announced by the Ministry of Industry on Thursday, the final decision will be communicated to each beneficiary business group and posted on the ministry’s website. Winning companies will need to provide the necessary guarantees and will start receiving money before the end of the year, which is estimated to be about 90% of the total amount of aid awarded.
Another call for PERTE in 2023
The forecast is also that a new call will open. It will be in the first quarter of 2023, as Maroto announced on Vigo in statements compiled by Europa Press. In this first edition, inexhaustible funds will be used and available resources can be expanded “if necessary”. This new PERTE could be a new opportunity for Envision’s giga factory in Extremadura. But not alone.
Ministry of Industry anticipates another call in 2023 and more funding “if needed”
Guillermo Fernández Vara, president of the Junta de Extremadura, once again argued this Thursday that the initiative will continue “one way or another”. And the same applies to the Volkswagen project in Sagunto (Valencia).
“It is not decided whether to make investments with these characteristics overnight,” Vara said of the German group’s recent pressure to seek greater financing. The same is not true for the Chinese giant in Extremadura, as the work “at a given moment” began to “guarantee that it will be viable apart from PERTE and will be a reality in the future”. “We are less restless“, insisted on statements collected by Europa Press. Since last October 3, when the possibility of the project being excluded from PERTE began to be evaluated, the Board argued that a battery factory would be “yes or yes” » PERTE margin “a very complex mechanism that restricts too much and is very difficult to adapt to new projects like this“.