With the regulation in hand the plant Seat in Martorell you already have everything for start manufacturing electric vehicles within four years, before 2025. With the publication today the bases of the LOSS for the development of the electric and connected vehicle, to turn Spain into a ‘European electromobility hub, with a public aid program of 2,975 million euros and the mobilization of 11,900 million by the private sector, paves the way for the factory of the group company Volkswagen lead the industrial transformation of the sector. The Government has developed the plan fine-tuning all the points since it is the first industrial strategic plan of its kind to be approved in the European Union.
The project led by Seat and Volkswagen that has been submitted to the aid of the LOSS It is the most important at the sector level and meets all the requirements to be awarded Seat’s initiative has the participation of more than 15 companies (Telefónica, Iberdrola and CaixaBank and SMEs that include various automotive suppliers such as Gestamp, Ficosa, Antolín and Sesé) with the aim of covering the entire electric car value chain, from the lithium extraction in Extremadura to the recycling of used batteries passing through a battery factory and the assembly of an urban electric car in Martorell and Navarra. The entire electric vehicle value chain It is represented in the project that is presented to PERTE. From Seat they point out that: “it is good news for Spain and for the automotive industry that the Government has published the regulatory bases of the PERTE of the Electric and Connected Vehicle”.
The Volkswagen group will invest 159,000 million of euros in the next five years (89,000 million destined for electrification and 56,000 million for the digitization of its factories) to transform the entire consortium and adapt it to the electrification of the car. In this investment, now that aid will be obtained in Spain with the project presented by Seat, the award of the 100% electric vehicle small platform to the plant Martorell for brands Cupra, Volkswgen and Skoda, as well as that of a Small SUV 100% electric for Landaben Volkswagen factory in Navarra. In that small SUV there would be the option of producing the model that will replace the Seat Arona (the best-selling car in Spain this year).
Prepared factories
Martorell It has been preparing for electrification for some time and Seat announced in July 2020 a five-year plan aimed at transform your production centers (Martorell, Zoa Franca and Components in El Prat) and the R&D Technical Center with a investment of 5,000 million euros. The vision of the future of the management (at that time in the hands of Carsten Isensee on an interim basis before the arrival of Wayne Griffiths) was already looking to have fertilized land for the production of electric vehicles. Eleven days ago, its first fruits began to be seen with the inauguration of the first battery laboratory in Spain, the Test Center Energy (TCE), a investment of 7 million euros to equip a 1,500-square-meter facility where the components for the batteries that will equip the Volkswagen group vehicles will be developed and tested in the immediate future.
In parallel, work has been done on the adaptation of production lines at the Martorell plant itself (where plug-in and combustion hybrid models are currently being produced) and work will begin shortly on the Component Center Transformation of El Prat where, probably, it will end up installing a battery assembly center as EL PERIÓDICO pointed out in March of this year. Knowledge has also been generated among the staff with the creation of the Electromobolity Learning Center (eLC), designed to train workers in the technologies of electromobility.
Battery production
The theme of the battery plant and the decision of where to locate it will continue to take place until next month of March or April, which will be when the project is finished outlining after studying all the options. The battery production comprehends six stages: Extraction of ore in mines; Preparation and mixing of the active material (lithium); Creation of electrodes (anodes and cathodes); Cell assembly; Assembly of the cell modules; and the Battery Assembly itself.
Throughout this process, the new facilities of Martorell and El Prat could host the last three links. The first three could be distributed between Extremadura, Valencia and Aragon. Own Volkswagen group already contemplates the creation of a battery plant (gig factory) in southern Europe, with Spain being the place with the best options.
Related news
The project led by Seat and the Volkswagen group has all the requirements for approval. The mandatory blocks include the Manufacture and Assembly of Original Equipment, Manufacture of Hydrogen Batteries / Cells and Manufacture of Components (motors, materials, process innovation), while in the additional blocks, the companies’ project also complies with the manufacturing of smart electric vehicle components, microconnectivity and processors, and manufacturing of recharging systems.
Among all the project companies meet the conditions to receive aid. In addition, the project of Seat and the rest of the companies also meet the conditions of: Being at least 5 companies, developing their business in at least two autonomous communities, having a job creation commitment, having a private investment commitment, grouping at least 40% of SMEs and have a knowledge provider entity (R + D + i).
Reference-www.elperiodico.com