Navalmoral de la Mata in Extremadura sits at a crossroads of caution and hope as news about a revised plan to adjust production by Envision AESC circulates, following a report from El periodico de Extremadura. Local business leaders assume the project will move forward, bringing with it an economic uptick already beginning to show. Yet the final size of the gigafactory remains unclear, prompting Ramón Barbado, president of the Moralo Business Circle, to speak with measured optimism: “This project is huge for Navalmoral, it feels like waiting for an earthquake, though the magnitude is unknown.” Some observers have already begun to prepare for the future, noting investments and the acquisition of vacant buildings affected by the construction crisis, as well as land purchases.”
A still more cautious stance comes from the town hall of Navalmoral, where mayor Enrique Hueso will wait to see the new plan before commenting. He notes that the only project currently known is the one presented by the president over two years ago, promising 3,000 jobs directly and 10,000 indirect roles, with an investment of 2.5 billion euros.
El complejo mercado del coche eléctrico en Europa
There are reasons to believe that the project revision does not mean a definitive retreat by the investor. Energy sector sources acknowledge that the European electric vehicle market, with far less deployment than Asia, requires a rethink to ensure a customer base, but they emphasize that the plan was always laid out in three phases. Production, they say, must be aligned with demand across the continent.
Envision AESC is obliged to certify the investment by the end of 2027 or face repayment of the total amount with interest, which would damage the company’s reputation as well as the economy
Envision AESC has ongoing agreements with firms that intend to exploit Extremadura lithium mines to supply raw materials. Having already received 200 million in Perte aid (the remaining 100 million in soft loans), the company is obliged to certify the investment before year-end 2027. Failure to do so would trigger repayment with interest, a move that would be a major reputational and economic setback. The financial plan presented relies on its own resources plus two aid lines: resilience funds from Perte and a regional incentives program. Both are tied to the development of the project area. The latter remains unused because it cannot apply to the same production unit as the first funds. Access to them would require a second phase at the factory.
New environmental impact statement
The newly proposed project, due to be submitted by year end, could be reduced to the first of the three phases. That would entail redoing procedures such as the environmental impact declaration, making institutional support and investor understanding more essential than ever.
One instituted body involved, the Junta, remains prudent: the Extremaduran government plans to back the project and assist Envision in whatever is needed to move it forward. They simply state this commitment.
Meanwhile, regional PSOE secretary Miguel Ángel Gallardo criticized the Junta for not being proactive enough regarding the role played by the previous president, Guillermo Vara. He called for more infrastructure tied to the factory, such as a wastewater treatment plant or an aqueduct spur from Valdecañas to Navalmoral’s industrial park. In practice, if the project proceeds, the factory would rely on the park’s own water supply and supplement it with water from the town’s treatment plant, a move that would require permission from the Tagus River Basin Authority.