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The new ECV PERTE will reinforce the value chain of electric mobility in Spain.
This is the age of sustainable mobility and we are in the process of completing the entire electric vehicle value chain thanks to the boost from European funds: from car and battery manufacturing to the components industry and the extraction and processing of commodities.
In a series of interviews with experts from the consulting firm FI Group, Bankinter examines the calls planned for 2024 and takes stock of the first three years of Next Generation funds. Emma Montserrat, head of European Funds and deputy assistant managing director at Bankinter, talks on this occasion to Borja Dapena, automotive & mobility sectorial leader at FI Group, about the two new editions of the Electric and Connected Vehicle PERTE, known as the ECV PERTE.
Emma Montserrat: Borja, the third and fourth editions of the ECV PERTE are about to start. How important are these calls and what corporates are they targeted at?
Borja Dapena: ECV PERTE I was the first major call for NextGen funds, and it energised numerous projects and consortia while simultaneously attracting a great deal of investment. The second edition, ECV PERTE II, was aimed at more individual projects and addressed the needs expressed by the sector. It is still in under way. And now we are going to have the opportunity to submit new projects for the third and fourth editions, which have been announced with a global allocation of 1.55 billion euros. This is a magnificent opportunity for the sector. In fact, I would say this call is crucial, it's the one the sector has been waiting for.
We are going to energise our customers' projects, but we also have to attract investment: for electric vehicles, batteries, component manufacturing and obviously commodities. Without a doubt, it's a great opportunity for the country and corporates to secure their projects, improve their competitiveness and, above all, complete the value chain of the automotive sector. This is a very important industry in Spain. Either we secure investments, or the investments will go to another country.
“This is a crucial call for the sector: it will allow us to improve competitiveness, attract investment and complete the electric vehicle value chain”
Emma Montserrat: over the last two years there has been a lot of talk about gigafactories and where they will be located, with different areas and regions all competing to be chosen. Has the second call of the ECV PERTE really allowed us to attract this type of investment?
Borja Dapena: without doubt. And not only for batteries but components as well. We launched an international call to invest in Spain, a country that is the second largest producer in Europe and the eighth largest in the world, where the automotive industry is pampered for its capacity and for the driving effect it has on employment and the economy. It has certainly been a boost to all the investments already received and all the ones we're about to receive.
Thanks to the call we are competing internationally, because the automotive sector is a global sector. The products are made in Spain but sold to other countries. But it's important to have tools and national incentives to attract these investments, and there's no doubt that this call will make it easier to attract new investments, such as gigafactories, battery component manufacturers, processors of commodities like lithium and cobalt, and everything related to electric vehicles.
“The second edition of the ECV PERTE has been a great success. 299 individual projects were submitted”
Emma Montserrat: so would it be true to say that ECV PERTE II has managed to mobilise a large number of projects in the sector?
Borja Dapena: it's been a great success: 299 individual projects were submitted. This will allow us to provide important productive capacity to Spain, as I said, but the objective is to try and cultivate strategic independence in manufacturing. We saw this during in the pandemic: we can't be dependent on third countries if we want to be self-sufficient in the manufacture of electric vehicles and in the entire value chain of sustainable mobility.
“We provide a 360-degree service to customers. The FI Group consultants are integrated into the corporate's culture and organisation.”
Emma Montserrat: it has been three years since Bankinter started working with FI Group to help the Bank's customers apply for and prepare European fund projects. What role do you play in a call like the ECV PERTE?
Borja Dapena: unlike other calls for funds, this PERTE has an end date of December 2028 for the execution of major projects. The first thing we do is identify the project. Then we analyse it and prepare an economic feasibility study, and obviously we check that it fits and aligns with the call. We provide a 360-degree service to customers. We like to be deeply involved from start to finish: our consultants are integrated into the corporate's culture and organisation.
Naturally, every corporate is different but we are very resilient and have our own methodology. We are a team with tremendous capabilities and what we do is provide support throughout the life of the project: from the ideation to the presentation, justification and follow-up, and right up to the government checks and closure of the case. The FI team is part of the customer's team. We work hand in hand, side by side, to ensure that the project is as successful as possible.
“The automotive industry is the leading investor in R&D in Europe. The ECV PERTE III and IV allow corporates that benefited from the first editions to submit more projects and involve the entire value chain”
Emma Montserrat: Borja, it will surely be difficult to find corporates that haven't already been mobilised as part of ECV PERTE I and II, but can they submit new projects to the new calls, even if they were beneficiaries in the two previous editions?
Borja Dapena: we are talking about a sector that, at the European level, is the top sector for investment in R&D and very intensive in CAPEX. We have major manufacturers, no less than fourteen OEMs, and more than 1,000 suppliers. This is an essential call for the sector. The automotive sector is a driver sector where investments are repeated year after year, with billions of euros, to increase competitiveness. We compete with other European countries like Germany and Italy, and with China, Japan, America...
These new editions of the ECV PERTE will give corporates that benefited from the first and second editions the opportunity to submit new projects. In the end, European funds have to be used to improve the competitiveness of the sector, make new investments, adapt car and component factories to the reality of electric vehicles, and create new platforms and new components to boost the sector, with everything that entails, such as suppliers setting up facilities nearby. The call is open to any project related to electric vehicles.
