Spain is continuing to work very hard on the transformation to electric of plants there. In fact, at this very time, the Stellantis automotive group is getting closer to establishing a gigafactory in the country. This action, will be possible thanks to the allocation of a significant government subsidy that Spain has decided to grant.
Significant subsidy from Spain for Stellantis
Spain has decided to grant a significant subsidy to Stellantis, the amount of which amounts to 133 million euros, which is equivalent to about $146 million. This amount is granted solely to be used for the purpose of building a potential battery plant for electric vehicles. This would be the agreement of the car manufacturer Stellantis with the Spanish government at the moment. Although it is important to anticipate that Stellantis has not yet officially accepted Spain’s proposal.
This rather impressive figure, will be used by Stellantis for the creation of this facility that will be located near the city that is in the northeastern part of the country, namely Zaragoza. The news was affirmed on Tuesday, October 8 just by the Spanish Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu.
Government aid to promote electric vehicles
The major grant we are talking about is part of an aid program by the government to try to promote as much as possible the electric vehicle (EV) industry, which as we know is currently in extreme difficulty. At the same time, it is aimed at investing in the batteries of these cars using the pandemic relief funds that have been granted by the European Union.
The city of Madrid holds out hope that the aid will convince the Stellantis group to confirm the project, which puts Spain in a position to be considered an important automotive hub for the entire continent. Currently, however, the big car company is still deciding whether to build this battery production complex or not. In fact, it could even be located next to the Figuerelas plant that already belongs to the group.
Stellantis still in doubt over Spanish Gigafactory
A spokesperson for the Stellantis group told Reuters that they were very pleased with the Spanish government’s decision. This person, however, also added that currently the project is still subject to the completion of all regulatory approvals. For this very reason, the company is expected to announce a final decision soon. The Ministry of Industry moreover, said in a note that, adding up even the latest aid, Stellantis would go on to receive a total of nearly 300 million for the creation of the project, which would be nearly $330 million.
The ministry announced separately that there were also plans to increase aid, with an additional subsidy for another gigafactory in the eastern city of Sagunto. The amount would rise from the initial 98 million euros (more than $107 million) to 152 million euros (more than $166 million). This project belongs to battery manufacturer Volkswagen Subsidiary. Finally, it was also stated that the project, in cooperation with China’s CATL, would create about 3,000 jobs and require an investment of nearly 2.5 billion euros total.