The Spanish Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu, has expressed optimism regarding Stellantis, opening up the possibility of constructing a battery factory in Spain. “We look forward to the announcement of new incentives and are hopeful for positive news,” Hereu stated to Reuters during an event in Barcelona, when asked if he had confidence in the future of the Stellantis project.
Stellantis’ fourth Gigafactory in Europe could be built in Spain
The Spanish government is expected to initiate a procedure where businesses will compete to obtain grants and loans for specific projects. “I believe it’s reasonable to think that everything will go well,” he mentioned. Stellantis’ CEO, Carlos Tavares, announced in January that the automaker intends to build a battery factory in Spain, provided it receives financial support from the government.
Last year, Spain allocated 59 million euros for the Stellantis battery factory project located near the northeastern city of Zaragoza. This funding was part of the government’s aid program aimed at promoting the electric vehicle and battery industry, using pandemic relief funds provided by the European Union.
Jordi Hereu, who had meetings with Stellantis executives last December, announced last week that a third phase of financial aid will be launched in the first quarter. This phase includes 200 million euros in grants and 100 million euros in loans. Subsequently, in the first quarter, a fourth phase of aid valued at 1.25 billion euros is planned for the second half of the year.
The facility, which will have CATL as the main partner, will be the fourth to be built in Europe. It will join the plant inaugurated last year in France, in the Pas-de-Calais region, and those currently under construction in Germany, in Kaiserslautern, and Italy, in Termoli. In addition to the planned Gigafactory, Stellantis is considering transferring the production of compact electric vehicles based on STLA Small to that site. A preliminary agreement has already been reached.