Raül Blanco: "In Spain we are going to opt for projects to be able to manufacture semiconductors"

Raül Blanco, Secretary General of Industry, has before him the challenge of increasing the level of industrialization of the country to try to reach the desired 20% of GDP. To achieve this he has the support of recovery funds.

How do you rate the evolution of the Pertes that have already been presented?

I have a very positive assessment for the type of projects and because we continue to move towards a complex industrial policy, collaboration between companies from different territories, large and small, value chain projects in different sectors and taking into account R&D, energy efficiency, digitization, but with the perspective of a very European connection, following what has been done with the projects of common European interest, the IPCEI. With that philosophy, now that we have a volume of resources thanks to the recovery plan, we can go to complex projects. The first has been the Perte of the electric vehicle and in a few days the call will be published in the BOE with 2,975 million euros. This past week the agri-food Perte was approved with an allocation of 1,000 million euros, where the industrial part will receive 400 million. The next Perte in the industrial field will surely be the naval sector, very focused on digitization and diversification of the sector. The endowments are yet to be seen, but in the industrial field they will be around 200 million. And other actions linked to the field of circular economy that we are working with Ecological Transition and that we hope can be presented, making room for decarbonization elements. That is the general map we have.

Are there delays?

Everything is very complex to manage. You have to see the volume of resources that are being summoned. It is a matter of weeks, but I want to convey that this first semester is absolutely decisive. If we add up all the Government tenders, around 24,000 million euros will be called with all the calls. That’s two points of GDP. We are in the decisive semester of the recovery plan and the impact will be felt progressively in the coming semesters. We are facing a volume of resources that had never been given and the important thing is to mobilize the projects.

What is the commitment to the European Commission?

We have to meet an objective of the plan, that the Perte of the electric vehicle, the agri-food and in the format that the Perte of circular economy or green industry has have to be resolved before December 31, is the commitment with the Commission. Some of them are going to go before, but the commitment is December. Surely there will be some that are resolved months before, such as, for example, the electric vehicle. There will be 60 days of open call and later the evaluation of applications and we would go to the summer.

Will the location of the battery factory be resolved there?

We keep working. We hope that within the framework of Perte there will be good news. There are several projects underway and we hope they will come to fruition.

“Including SMEs that are smaller in Spain is more difficult, but it will be more positive in the future”

Will there be more than one gigafactory?

The Perte is competitive. There may be several projects that include a gigafactory. That is our objective and there is capacity to finance several.

What does Perte focus on for the agri-food industry?

It will focus on the digitization of data management, artificial intelligence and food traceability as well as on the part of sustainability that connects with circular economy and energy efficiency.

And the shipbuilding industry?

It will go to digitization and diversification to offshore wind. Support will be given to Navantia, Pymar, Siemens and private shipyards will be core.

Will SMEs be counted?

The auxiliary of the naval are SMEs. The obligation will be in all Pertes. It is marked by the European Commission and the recovery plan. It is an element that we must take advantage of from the point of view of promoting competition and increasing the business dimension in Spain. Including SMEs that are smaller in Spain is more difficult, but it will be more positive in the future.

Are there any initiatives to enter the semiconductor plans?

On the subject of the semiconductor factory, we have to talk about different levels. One is the level of frontier technology, which we are talking about investments of tens of billions of euros, where there will probably be a factory at European level and we will have to see how it evolves. Secondly, related to semiconductors, at a level much closer to the industry, there may be various design and manufacturing projects, and there investments approach hundreds of millions. The dimensions are different and are much closer to the industry. In Spain we have the possibility, surely, of opting for this type of project closer to the industry. In parallel, we are working on the IPCEI for microelectronics at a European level, where proposals have been submitted for 21 Spanish companies and research centers for the design and manufacture of semiconductors. Likewise, we participate together with twelve other countries and we will have the Commission’s response to the proposals that each country has presented around June. Projects with a value of 400 million euros have been presented and with the recovery plan we will try to cover that element that the IPCE would do.

Do private companies also enter?

Yes, they are reference research centers such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, which is the national supercomputing center and is a leader at European level, and there are other proposals from companies and startups for semiconductor design from different territories: Catalan, Valencian, Andalusian. .. Then there are other projects that are not directly related to the IPCEI of microelectronics, but that are tremendously interesting. Last week I was in Trujillo with the Diamond Foundry project for the manufacture of artificial diamonds with an investment of 700 million euros, which in addition to diamonds dedicated to jewelry can also be used for semiconductors. The project is underway and it is really fascinating. It has been working discreetly with investors. We are involved in the three levels of the Administration (state, regional and local) so that the project evolves. There is a commitment on the part of the Ministry to contribute resources, on the part of the Board and, obviously, a very important commitment of private investment, which is the main one and already has a certain calendar. They are going to start moving land next July and from next year the construction of ships and the installation of the reactors for the manufacture of diamonds. In other words, the project is going ahead and, although we are still cautious, it is very important because of what it can mean for industry in Extremadura and for diamond production capacity for semiconductors at a European level.

Can it serve as a claim for that semiconductor factory?

Totally and absolutely.

Is there a renaissance in Extremadura at an industrial level?

There is one key element, aside from how easy the Board is to work with, that makes things easy. The energy vector is tremendously relevant. The plant needs 20 MW of photovoltaic with batteries and for that you need sun, land and ease of installation and that is happening in Extremadura.

Alcoa closure

For a few weeks, Spain has ceased to have aluminum production. Do you think Alcoa will reopen?

There has been an agreement between the company and the unions where some investments are guaranteed. In 2024 the plant will be uprooted and, therefore, what needs to be seen is that it be fulfilled and that Alcoa, for once in its life, keeps its word, which would be surprising. We will be delighted. We will see to it that it complies.

What happens if you breach?

There is a signed agreement. Now the scenario is that there is an agreement and investments to be made for the commissioning of the plant until 2024 and that is where we are.

Do you already have the guarantees?

The 103 million dollars are already deposited.

In what situation is Alu Ibérica at the moment?

It is in a bankruptcy process and you have to be very careful about it. It is a very difficult situation for the workers of both plants and we continue to look at exit possibilities for both.

Is the interest of investors maintained?

Interest is maintained, at least for a partial activity such as aluminum smelting and, therefore, we must continue working along these lines.

Will the bankruptcy administrator award it?

Yes, it is a different situation from that of Lugo, because there are several parallel judicial processes with which the process that the Justice is carrying out must be respected.

State Pact

The Government promised to reform the Law of Industry, how is the future Law going?

The State Pact and the Industrial Strategy are closed, pending approval by the High-Level Industry Forum, which we will convene in the coming weeks. Afterwards, the guiding principles of the Law will go out to public consultation and we must have a Preliminary Bill prepared and approved by the end of the year in order to take it to the Courts and have it approved within the legislature. For us, the milestone with the European Commission is at the end of 2023, with which we are working.

What do you want to reform?

There is a general element of updating both in the field of industrial policy to provide it with instruments on issues such as digitization, the ecological transition and how you connect it with these large projects at a European level. How do you introduce the issues of strategic autonomy that will be included in the National Security Law, but surely they will have a place in the Industry Law and update the elements of quality and industrial security more normative and competence of the ministry and, finally, I would like to include a chapter on reindustrialisation.

And the metrology law?

Every several years measures, weights and patterns are adjusted after having changed several decrees. It is a very technical law that is updated with the autonomous communities.

energy prices

The Alliance for Industry calls for more measures to curb the impact of high energy prices. Are you thinking of alternative measures?

We have full coordination with the Ministry of Ecological Transition and, especially, with the Secretary of State for Energy. Many measures have been taken at the fiscal level, regarding the price of electricity that are notable in recent months and, for our part, we are going to continue acting within the framework of the Statute for electro-intensive consumers with more resources than last year in the three lines that we had: costs of indirect CO2 emissions, reduction of charges to renewables and the Support Fund for bilateral contracting.

The guarantee fund for electro-intensive consumers (FERGEI) was launched last year. It is endowed with a total of 200 million euros and this year it will begin to have operations. It is very important that the PPA market – long-term electricity purchase contracts – work, that is why we are proposing these guarantees and, if more are necessary, increasing them will be studied.

Will further action be taken?

The Royal Decree of the electro-intensive Statute has to be modified in order to adapt it to the new community guidelines with the sectoral changes that exist, but the structure itself will not change.