The Automotive and Mobility Technology Platform – Move2Future, organized by Sernaut, held its annual plenary meeting on March 23 at the Pontifical Foundation (Madrid) to address strategic questions for the future of sustainable mobility. The session was attended by José Maria López, commissioner of PERTE VEC, and the support of more than 90 representatives of suppliers, manufacturers of vehicles, technologies, engineering, universities and other entities related to the automotive and mobility sector.
In a welcome speech, Ana Gómez Arche, CEO of the Mobility consultancy Pons, highlighted that “Spain has a powerful and innovative automotive ecosystem represented magnificently on the M2F roster. We must focus on it and actively support its projects, because they are the levers for the generation of R+D+i that work they create quality and encourage public-private cooperation in this very strategic sector.”
Next, Cecilia Medina, head of R+D+i and training at Sernauto and coordinator of M2F in the roster, presented a summary of the activities carried out between 2019 and 2022, also highlighting the main roles of the M2F roster in information and as media with the Ministry of Industry in the process related to PERTE VEC. “Since we had already defined the R+D+i Agenda Priorities of the Automotive Sector, we were more prepared to propose driving projects, Ministerial Expressions of Interest, and long etc. Our work of union between OEMs and SMEs was particularly important when presenting projects in the last call PERTE VEC, which It resulted in the financing of 10 major proposals and a total of 793 million in aid.”
Cecilia Medina insisted on the importance of the Government supporting technology made in Spain to attract projects and talent to our country, adding that “the current situation in the area leads us to the need for other types of calls and volumes of aid”. . According to this opinion, the coordinator of the Platform shared with other attendees programs that move the automotive industry and from which companies in the sectors could benefit, such as the PERTE Chip, circular economy, decarbonization or spatial data for Industry programs.
For Medina, it is also the key to launch a new call for support from the Automotive Automotive Program (PTAS) with a larger budget, called Portugal 2020-type, which includes long agreements between companies and universities.
Updated site about PERTE VEC
Then, José María López, Commissioner for PERTE VEC, shared the updated status of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation (PERTE) of Electric and Connected Vehicles. In his speech, the Commissioner emphasized the importance of “applying the lessons learned” in order to promote new support projects that attract large investments and job creation in our country. “I’m here to make it easier to get money to the majority of cars. Spain is ready to meet the mobility of the future and we need to use the money to try to be leaders in Europe,” he said.
In this sense, Joseph Maria López transferred two appeals in which they are working to be able to award the pending 2.100 million dollars before the end of this year. PERTE VEC 2 will not be but, with the support of the new city of Brussels, they will send in June a specific line for battery and component manufacturers for batteries that will have “big incentives”, with projects worth up to 350 million in aid.
In addition, in September they will open another line for individual enterprises or small groups that will be much better, insofar as the extension of deadlines until the year 2027 or even 2028, the reduction of guarantees from 100% to 40%, will include the costs of those who choose. 15% indirect and fungible, and CAPEX financing for SMEs. “From the Ministry of Industry we will try to get the order of bases on the battery line next week and maybe the next one will come out for the next call in May,” added the Commissioner.
Finally, the new Council and the Council Strategy Committee were presented and the new Working Group was inaugurated in specific parallel sessions to analyze the joint sectoral strategy established in 2017 and to rework the agenda of R&D&i Priorities for the Automotive Sector. on the set of current and future trends and challenges.
