The agreement signed by the Spanish government and the Chinese consortium Envision Energy will put on the table €3.8 billionfinanced in part by the European Union, to launch four projects with a marked ecological character. In addition to the Navalmoral de la Mata battery manufacturing plant, announced a little over a month ago, other projects are added that are part of a broader strategic agreement between Envision Group and the Spanish government that includes, a net zero digital huba green hydrogen plant and one wind turbine assembly plant intelligent in different regions of Spain.
In a statement, José Domínguez, director of Envision Spain, indicates that the projects would be developed in collaboration with the Spanish renewable energy company Acciona Energia, although he did not indicate what exactly his role will be. The battery factory will be built in the Spanish city of Navalmoral de la MataExtremadura, halfway between the capital, Madrid, and the Spanish-Portuguese border, and will be operational in 2025. It will require an investment of 2,500 million euros and could create up to 3,000 jobs.
Like the Volkswagen battery factory in Sagunto, near Valencia the Envision AESC plant will be subsidized through the PERTE program. The plant will become part of the “VENERGY+” project, which is made up of 12 partners from ten autonomous communities. It will localize the supply of parts and components using advanced technologies and integrate them into the battery ecosystem.
Envision AESC does not provide further specific details of the projects as the announcement focuses on the overview of the overall project. Therefore, the type of battery cells to be produced and potential customers are not yet known.
The plant for the production of green hydrogen will have an investment of up to €900 million. It will be built in Alcázar de San Juan and will provide energy for a net zero emissions project, although in this case details have not yet been given about the exact schedule or scope proposed for this facility. The construction of plants for the assembly of smart wind turbines is also announced, together with a plant for turbine assembly. Lastly, a center for digital product development with an investment of €300 million.
“We are fully committed to supporting Spain’s national agenda on the net zero transition,” says Envision CEO Lei Zhang. “The creation of new industrial opportunities such as the Net Zero Industrial Park will unlock the enormous potential of renewable energy in Spain and serve as a gateway to build a pan-European green technology industrial ecosystem.”
The battery factory in Spain joins the Envision AESC list of installation projects of this type. In China, the company is building a battery plant with an annual capacity of 20 GWh. In August 2021, it announced a battery factory that it will manage with Nissan in Japan. The plans for the factories in SunderlandUK and douaiFrance (including the Renault and Nissan plants there) were last adjusted in 2021. Finally, last April the battery factory in Kentuckyin United States.
