The importance of developing an industry around electric mobility has brought current attention to the different battery factory projects for automobiles in Spain; what are the main ones and what is their status?

In just a few years, thanks to the emergence of innovative specialized brands, electric vehicles have dispelled any doubt about their vital importance as a key player in the decarbonization of transportation, and have solidified their position as the leading alternative to combustion engine vehicles. This new reality, now fundamental and present in the strategies of major vehicle manufacturers, is causing a revolution in traditionally vehicle-producing countries and in those aspiring to become so. Alongside the increasing number of announcements about new electric models, there are also announcements of numerous investments in building component factories for these vehicles, among which, far above the rest, are the automotive battery factories in Spain.

Until recently, the lack of news about this type of investment in Spain was surprising. Spain is the second largest vehicle producer in Europe and the ninth largest in the world, and a key player given its strategic reserves of rare earth elements—among the most important in Europe—essential for manufacturing these electrical components. News of new factories across Europe appeared daily, with the emergence of countries like Norway and Sweden being surprising, though perhaps less so considering the significant role electric vehicles play in their consumer markets. Meanwhile, Spain seemed to remain stagnant in the face of this situation. However, this period of inactivity ended a few months ago when numerous electric battery factory projects in Spain began making headlines in various media outlets. Several public-private consortia, companies, industry associations, and institutions have expressed interest in developing various projects to support therestructuring of an industryso important to the country’s GDP (10% of the total), filling the map with initiatives to make Spain a country committed to the decarbonization of transport. And even more so considering that economic recovery plans to combat the profound impact of COVID-19, both at the European and national levels, rely on thebet on this technologyamong others.

To this end, it has been essential to allocate 13 billion euros – 10 billion depending on the source – from these European recovery funds, which will seek to attract public-private investments with the main players in the sector, which have been very focused until now on investments in France or Germany, where the automotive industry is also crucial.

New developments in the manufacture of batteries for electric cars in Spain

The industry has thus welcomed Seat’s announcement, part of the Volkswagen Group, that it will have a production capacity of 500,000 electric cars per year at its Martorell plant by 2025. This announcement coincided with Volkswagen’s news of a battery factory, which represents the first step on the long road toward an industry focused on covering the entire electric vehicle value chain. Furthermore, Stellantis—the giant resulting from the merger of equals between the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French Groupe PSA—is working on building an electric battery factory in the country, where it has several of its most important vehicle manufacturing centers.

These milestones, fundamental for wealth and job creation, are complemented by several projects still in the planning stages, although not all will receive the necessary investment to become a reality. Let’s examine the main projects for manufacturing automotive batteries in Spain and their current status.

Main projects for automotive batteries

Main projects for the manufacture of batteries for automobiles in Spain and their status

Battchain Alliance: a consortium for the entire value chain

One of the most important projects, which is actually a consortium made up of different companies, is the Battchain alliance, with an approximate investment of €1.2 billion to develop electric batteries entirely in Spain. This initiative includes everything from mineral extraction to battery production, which will take place at the San José de Valdeflórez mine (Cáceres), solid-state cell production at a location yet to be decided in the Basque Country (Álava is gaining ground), assembly at the Nabbat plant in a location to be confirmed in Navarre, assembly of part of the production—the other part would be destined for major vehicle manufacturers—at the Scoobic factory in Dos Hermanas (Seville), and recycling at the Beeplanet plant in Noain (Navarre).

Thus, this group of companies led by EIT InnoEnergy,It could create 1,700 direct and 12,000 indirect jobs thanks to an estimated turnover of around 2.4 billion euros by the end of this decadeThis alliance has managed to overcome the lack of cooperation and collaboration between communities, one of the main obstacles for a macro-project of this kind, integrating different projects such as Basquevolt, Battery Packs, Scoobic or Nabbat into a joint and distinctive proposal.

Battery factorycar batteriesin Catalonia: located near Seat’s manufacturing hub in Catalonia

One of the projects that has generated the most excitement is the one mentioned above, which brings together the forces of Seat (Volkswagen Group), Iberdrola, Telefónica, Caixabank, and the Spanish government through a public-private consortium to build a large battery factory in Catalonia. The announcement, made in March by the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has identified the former Nissan facilities in Barcelona as one of the possible locations for this new plant.The other possibility is Seat’s own Martorell plant,which will house an electric vehicle production line.

In any case, this project, with a budget estimated at around €5 billion, promises to become one of the most important industrial projects for the country in the coming years, also helping to mitigate the closure of some industries in the area, such as Nissan itself. Despite this, the project currently seems to be up in the air due to several factors, so it remains to be seen whether it will ultimately be carried out.

Battery factorycar batteriesby Phi4Tech: a comprehensive project from Extremadura

Phi4tech is a comprehensive energy storage project that would cost around 1 billion euros andIt would generate a total of 1,600 jobs,This initiative, announced by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism last March, would put Extremadura on the map of the automotive industry with a capacity of 2 gigawatt-hours per year in 2023, increasing to 10 by 2025, and even doubling to 20 by 2027. It would be linked to the lithium mines of Las Navas (Cáceres), operated by Lithium Iberia, as well as the Aguablanca mine. The raw materials would be processed in a cathode factory that Phi4tech itself would build in Cáceres.

Factorycar batteriesfrom Stellantis: a great possibility yet to be defined

The presence of Stellantis – the giant resulting from the merger of equals between the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French Groupe PSA – as one of the major car manufacturers in Spain has led to the Vigo Free Trade Zone being considered as one of the possible locations for one of its future car battery factories in Spain (its involvement in several projects is still to be defined).

In this regard, the Vigo Free Trade Zone Consortium has expressed its interest to the Spanish Government in proposing Plisan de Salvaterra-As Neves as the ideal location for these plans, which could result in a factory with an initial production capacity of 2 GWh, reaching 16 GWh in its final phase, and a total of 300,000 electric batteries annually thanks to an investment of 151.7 million euros.

Valencian Alliance of Batteries: a project under the auspices of Power Electronics

This alliance, under the auspices of the Valencian Regional Government and with the significant support of companies like Ford and Power Electronics, is working on a project to build a gigafactory in the Valencian region.It would represent an investment of 2 billion euros and the creation of 30,000 jobs.This initiative aims to ensure the continued operation of the Almussafes factory and its auxiliary industry. It has been submitted to one of the calls for proposals supported by the Ministry of Industry for Next Generation EU funds.

IDEC’s automotive battery manufacturing plant: a major project for Cantabria

Last September, Miguel Ángel Revilla, president of Cantabria, announced the interest of the French company IDEC in locating a new battery factory for electric vehicles in the region. This announcement, which came with thepromise of nearly 3,000 jobsIt seems to be progressing after the visit, last January, of a delegation from the company, although it is still to be defined.

The factory site could be the future La Pasiega Industrial Park, of which this new plant could occupy 200 hectares, 50 of them for auxiliary companies.

Battery Academy: Spain will be the first European country where the EBA250 Battery Academy will be implemented

While we have discussed various factory projects for producing batteries for automobiles, these require a skilled workforce. The Battery Academy project seems to have taken up this challenge, following the announcement that Spain will train 150,000 professionals in this field—it is estimated that 800,000 people will need to be trained in these tasks across Europe by the end of 2025. This milestone was unveiled during the European Battery Alliance Day, held in Madrid on May 19th, with the participation of the Vice-President for Institutional Relations and Foresight of the European Commission, Marco Šefčovič, and the Secretary General for Industry and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises of the Spanish Government, Raúl Blanco.

To this end, Spain will be the first European country to deploy the EBA250 Battery Academy, a training platform for all the jobs needed in the battery value chain, according to iEuropa Press informs.