German car manufacturer Volkswagen Group has announced the 'single largest' industrial investment in the history of Spain to build a battery Gigafactory, roll out electric vehicles (EV), and contracted Iberdrola to build a solar power plant for the gigafab.
Volkswagen, along with its Spanish presence SEAT S.A. plans to mobilize €10 billion to realize these plans, and build a comprehensive supplier ecosystem.
The Gigafactory in Valencia's Sagunto is planned to sport 40 GWh annual production capacity, and batteries produced here will be sent to its EV manufacturing plants at Martorell and Pamplona. It is expected to enter construction in Q1/2023 and production will start in 2026.
Under a strategic investment, Iberdrola will construct the solar power plant of an unidentified capacity within 10 kms of the Sagunto plant, covering 250 hectares of land. Phase I of the solar power plant once commissioned will provide 20% of the Gigafactory's total energy.
In a separate statement, Iberdrola said this agreement will involve €500 million in investments in renewable energies.
"This is the great value that we bring to this plant, through the generation of competitive renewable energy, part of it for self-consumption; recharging solutions for the mobility of the factory itself; improved energy efficiency and electrification of processes through the use of heat pumps or green hydrogen," said Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galán.
Volkswagen and SEAT have applied for funding under Spain's Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation Program (PERTE) for Electric and Connected Vehicle (VEC).
In May 2021, Volkswagen signed one of the largest power purchase deals in Germany with RWE Supply and Trading to source 170 GWh solar power annually (see Volkswagen To Source 170 GWh Solar Power Annually).
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