Volkswagen’s First Gigafactory outside Germany Laid the First Stone in the municipality of Sagunto in Valencia, Spain
On March 17th, 2023, Power Co, Volkswagen’s subsidiary for the generation of electric cell plants in the world, laid the first stone of the first Spanish Gigafactory in Sagunto, Valencia. The plant, expected to be operational in 2026, will directly employ 3,000 workers and produce 150 million battery cells per year for half a million vehicles produced in Pamplona and Martorell.
High-Level Support and Investment
The event was supported by King Felipe VI, President of the Government Pedro Sánchez, Minister Reyes Maroto, and the Valencian President Ximo Puig, who stressed the significance of the project for the transformation of Spain into an electric mobility hub in Europe.
SEAT’s President Wayne Griffiths also confirmed the objective of increasing the factory’s capacity by 50%, from 40GWh to 60GWh, and the company’s investment of 10,000 million euros in the joint project for the Martorell, Sagunt, and Pamplona plants.
Sustainability and Innovation
Thomas Schmall, Volkswagen’s director, announced that the Sagunt plant will produce cells sustainably with 100% green energy, and will incorporate a recycling plant, a supply plant, and a training centre. The factory will cover more than 200 hectares and form a battery campus.
A Key Piece for Spanish Reindustrialization
The President of the Government emphasized that the Sagunt Gigafactory exemplifies Spain’s commitment to innovation and the automotive industry, which employs two million people in the country and accounts for 8% of the GDP.
The Valencian President highlighted the factory’s contribution to the region’s recovery and promised to accelerate its development.
Can solar power charge an Electric car?
Can Home PV Systems Provide Flexible Charging for Electric Cars? ETH Research Team Finds Surprising Conclusions
Many people find the idea of powering an electric car with a home photovoltaic system appealing. However, is it possible to achieve flexibility when charging an electric vehicle through such a system? An ETH research team has conducted a study and reached some surprising conclusions.
Photovoltaics (PV) is gaining popularity, covering 5% of Switzerland’s electricity consumption. At the same time, the use of electric vehicles is on the rise, with 70,000 pure electric vehicles and 200,000 hybrids currently on Swiss roads. Professor Martin Raubal, an expert in Geoinformation Engineering at ETH Zurich, views this trend positively, citing that the transportation sector is responsible for approximately a third of Switzerland’s greenhouse gas emissions and that electromobility can help mitigate these emissions.
Solar power surges in Spain
The western region of Extremadura in Spain has welcomed the largest solar farm in Europe, the Franciso Pizaro solar farm, comprising one and a half million solar panels. This solar farm, which emerged under a scorching August sun with record-breaking temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, is capable of generating enough energy to power over 334,000 homes and prevent 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere annually.
Although its reign as Europe’s largest solar farm may be short-lived, its successor is likely to be another project from Spain, where national leadership combined with local flexibility and cooperative business models are driving a surge in solar energy. Spain is on track to achieve its goal of generating 74 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050, a contrast to the UK where the refusal of permission for solar farms reportedly added £100 million to energy bills during an energy crisis.
Currently, solar capacity in Spain is at 13.2 gigawatts, but by 2030, it is expected to exceed 72 GW – a more than five-fold increase in a decade, thanks to current policy and investment plans. In addition to utility-scale solar, rooftop solar is also growing in popularity, with an increase of 102 percent in private properties in 2021 compared to the previous year. Domestic self-consumption has also risen from 19% in 2020 to 32% of the total in 2021.
Read more: Electricity prices in Spain on the rise
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