The final weeks of 2022 presented a complex scenario for Stellantis Vigo in terms of fighting for STLA, one of the group’s new industrial platforms. Everything changed in January. Although the second call for the PERTE VEC (Electric and Connected Vehicle) has not yet been published, The negotiation with the government has paid off, and the perspective is not only that there will be aid, but that investments can be made by 2026., necessary for the olive plant and even two more years. However, thanks to European funding, the blockade on the arrival of high voltage in Balaídos was lifted. Realizing that the government had made a “big turn” by offering the “concrete” they demanded, factory manager Ignacio Bueno predicts, “There’s some peace and quiet now.” However model your signature, Carlos Tavares, keep pressing. Nearly break the aid barrier and with factory-guaranteed product quality, the challenge now is to cut costs. And the battle is focused on easing the energy bill, with the administration working in two directions: Desires to access assistance framework for gas-intensive industry for dyehouse consumption and negotiates contracts with the wind sector.
Working group meetings between the Company, Government and autonomous communities progressed with the start of the year and the appointment of the new Industry Secretary General. Francis White. This STLA SmallThe platform that Balaídos wants to connect the next generation of Peugeot 2008, He’s closer than ever, and for Perte, help is almost certain in the face of that second call. they had to distribute the remaining 2,182 million euros. drawr (total 2.975 million).
The management of the Vigo factory solved this obstacle cnow it is trying to cut costs to win the game against other facilities in the group it competes for the platform.Like Trnava in Slovakia or Kénitra in Morocco. Knowing that the quality of Balaídos is superior and it is hard to beat these countries in terms of labor costs, the aim is energy expenditure. “We understand there is room for improvement here,” company sources say.
Although the first steps have been taken, such as the announcement of the installation of 27,000 photovoltaic modules to meet 14% of the factory’s needs, Balaídos wants to go even further. In this case, we follow the example of the group’s factory in Figueruelas, Zaragoza. on that side, The company expects to meet 80% of electricity consumption with the hybrid formula of solar and wind energy., because in addition to the panels (almost 35,000 in its chassis) it will have four wind turbines. The management of Figuerulas, a facility located in an industrial area far from the town and city of Zaragoza, plans to build four mills on its land, which will be managed by Prosolia Energy, which will undertake the investment and distribute the energy. company for at least 15 years.
In the case of Vigo and although negotiations are in their infancy, the idea is to arrive at a PPA (abbreviation). power purchase agreement) an agreement with a company in the industry that the factory will purchase the energy of an established (or to be established) mill park for a certain period of time. In addition to the discount on the invoice, The move will mean advancing in the decarbonisation of production processesIn line with the goal set by Tavares himself, who wants Stellantis to be a carbon neutral company by 2038.
Gas
The other way Stellantis Vigo is working to lighten the bill is more urgent. In addition to the Perte, high voltage or Free Zone sales, the energy plan also appears at the negotiating table with the Government and the autonomous communities. Specifically, the firm’s aim is to gain access to the €450m aid set up on 28 December in the face of high gas costs due to the war in Ukraine.
Aware that the factory as a whole cannot be considered a gas-intensive industry, the firm’s approach is that they can access some of the funds given the abundant gas consumption that occurs in the processes required for the production of vehicles. heat generation for air in paint booths or for curing ovens.
Support would mean a sudden drop, as Tavares claims, and at least a face-to-face look at other mills in the group with better prices. Without going any further, the cost of producing a car in the Kénitra factory is 50 euros less in terms of energy expenditure than in Vigo.