Spain’s government plans to launch two new tenders worth two billion euros in parallel in July 2023 for the production of electric vehicles and batteries under its eMobility funding programme PERTE. In the first PERTE funding round, Volkswagen received almost half of the funds.
Jose Maria Lopez, the government official in charge of the funding programme, explained the modalities for the second funding round to the Reuters news agency. Previously, a new bidding round for battery cell manufacturers was planned for June and another for the production of electric vehicles in September. Instead, there will now be a double tender in July. According to Reuters, the timing now presented “represents an accelerated, more comprehensive push”.
The Volkswagen Group has already announced that it will submit a new application to produce additional e-vehicles in Spain. Other carmakers such as Renault and Ford are also considering applying for the funding, according to the news agency. Several potential battery cell factory projects – such as those by Tata Motors or Inobat Auto also depend on the PERTE funds.
The Spanish acronym PERTE stands for “Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation”. The two billion euros mentioned still come from last year’s PERTE funding pot, of which only 27 per cent was emptied. A total funding pot of 877.2 million euros was approved. The reason is said to have been too strict requirements. Lopez is therefore now quoted by Reuters as saying that the requirements for applicants are now less strict compared to the first funding round. For example, projects can now also be submitted that will not be completed until 2028 and not already in 2026.
The background to this is that the funding comes from EU pandemic funds, which actually have to be invested by 2026. However, the European Commission has now relaxed such requirements – probably mainly against the background of the Inflation Reduction Act in the USA.
As before, PERTE funding includes both grants and loans. The funding recipients have 40 or 60 months to put their production facilities into operation. Funding would be capped at €350 million for battery projects, depending on location; electric vehicle projects would receive no cap. And companies that have received funds from the first PERTE programme must submit new projects. This is the case with Volkswagen. The German carmaker was awarded almost half of the aforementioned PERTE sum in the autumn and in turn released 10 billion euros for large-scale electrification projects in Spain.
Keyword: Spain opens €2 billion funding pot with PERTE