The project includes the construction of a gigafactory in Valencia, the electrification of the plants in Martorell and Pamplona, and the creation of a sustainable ecosystem dedicated to electric vehicles
Spain is preparing for a big step towards electric mobility. The Volkswagen Group and SEAT S.A., along with sixty other partners, will invest 10 billion euros in the Future: Fast Forward project, with the ambition of turning Spain into a hub for electric vehicles in Europe. The project has been officially presented to PERTE VEC (acronym for Proyectos Estratégicos para la Recuperación y Transformación Económica, Vehículo Eléctrico y Conectado), the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation program for Electric and Connected Vehicles promoted by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, from which positive feedback is expected.
"This investment will electrify Spain, creating a battery gigafactory in Sagunto, enabling the production of electric vehicles at the Martorell and Pamplona plants, and building-up a comprehensive supplier ecosystem. This is the biggest industrial investment ever made in Spain" said Herbert Diess, CEO of the Volkswagen Group.
Future: Fast Forward62 national and international companies from different sectors participate in the Future: Fast Forward project, thus constituting the largest business grouping in the history of the automotive industry in Spain. In addition, this project brings together companies from eleven autonomous communities (Andalusia, Aragon, Basque Country, Cantabria, Castile and Leon, Catalonia, Community of Madrid, Extremadura, Galicia, Navarre, and Valencian Community), 61 % of which are small and medium-sized companies and cover the entire electric vehicle value chain. |
Four pillarsThe Future: Fast Forward project consists of four main pillars: the central one, directly led by SEAT S.A. and the Volkswagen Group, aims to electrify the Martorell and Pamplona factories. The second pillar focuses on creating a complete ecosystem for electric car batteries, ranging from lithium extraction to final assembly, including a gigafactory in Sagunto, near Valencia. The third pillar involves the localization in Spain of essential components for electric vehicles, while the fourth includes training, digitalization and the circular economy. Overall, the project covers the nine blocks identified by the PERTE VEC. "We will build the battery gigafactory with an investment of more than 3 billion euros, but the PERTE funds are essential to turn Spain into a European hub for electric vehicles", explained Thomas Schmall, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Group, CTO and Chairman of the Board of SEAT S.A. |
Sustainability and renewablesThe Sagunto battery factory will be built on an area of 200 hectares and will be the third of six gigafactories that the Volkswagen Group plans to build across Europe. Sustainability and a closed value chain loop will be key in these investments; some concrete examples are 100% energy supply from renewable sources, a local-for-local approach, and the recovery and reuse of raw materials. In this regard, the Volkswagen Group and the Iberdrola Group have signed a strategic agreement to build a photovoltaic plant in Sagunto that will provide green energy for the gigafactory. It will be a 250-hectare solar plant and will be located less than 10 kilometers from the battery factory, of which it will cover 20 percent of the energy needs in the initial phase. Source: SEAT S.A. VGI | Responsible OU: VP | Creation date: article date | Class 9.1 |
