The Ministry of Economy has already received the list of emblematic projects that each autonomous community is asking to prioritize for the Next Generation, the special funds that the European Union will inject into countries to reform their economies and adapt them to the 21st century. In the case of Catalonia, as ARA has learned, the projects presented by the Generalitat are valued at 2,089 million euros and are grouped into three blocks: one for technology, one for the environment and one for transformational infrastructures.
Following the avalanche of requests she received from the Autonomous Communities for access to European funds, the Minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, asked them to select the two most important “two or three”. The Generalitat has chosen not to do so exactly, but has presented three blocks, within which there are a dozen projects.
The projects requested by the Generalitat
Volume of European funds in millions of euros
BLOC INFRAESTRUCTHEREES
TRYEARSFOWNERES
Rationalization of water use
Circular bioeconomy of manure
Decarbonization of the economy
(waste management, renewables, water cycle)
Mobility of the future: smart and autonomous car
Design and prototype of a new European chip
Digital transformation of the industry
Reactivation fund to invest in companies
Audiovisual and video game innovation
‘Urban tech hubs’ (spaces and services for start-ups)
Emerging therapies and personalized medicine
New space economy (nanosatel lits)
Alternative protein (food research)
Quantum computing and telecommunications
BLOC INFRAESTRUCTHEREES
TRYEARSFOWNERES
Rationalization of water use
Circular bioeconomy of manure
Decarbonization of the economy (waste, renewables, …)
Mobility of the future: smart and autonomous car
Design and prototype of a new European chip
Digital transformation of the industry
Reactivation fund to invest in companies
Audiovisual and video game innovation
‘Urban tech hubs’ (spaces and services for start-ups)
Emerging therapies and personalized medicine
New space economy (nanosatel lits)
Alternative protein (food research)
Quantum computing and telecommunications
BLOC INFRAESTRUCTHEREES
TRYEARSFOWNERES
Rationalization of water use
Circular bioeconomy of manure
Decarbonization of the economy (waste, renewables, …)
Mobility of the future: smart and autonomous car
Design and prototype of a new European chip
Digital transformation of the industry
Reactivation fund to invest in companies
Audiovisual and video game innovation
‘Urban tech hubs’ (spaces and services for start-ups)
Emerging therapies and personalized medicine
New space economy (nanosatel lits)
Alternative protein (food research)
Quantum computing and telecommunications
The amount requested by Catalonia is only 4.5% of the almost 47 billion that Spain will receive from the Next Generation by 2026. However, most of the money (44 billion) must be distributed between this year and the next.
When it became known that Europe was activating the Next Generation funds, Catalonia was very quick to present a list of projects: it put 27 on the table, worth 41 billion. The new proposal of the Generalitat, with 12 projects, is a selection of those it considers most strategic.
With the documentation already presented, the Ministry of Economy explains that “it is studying how to articulate” all the plans received “so that there are no overlaps” and can “maximize the investment effort”. In addition, it is looking at “what fit” each project has in the goals set in the postcovid recovery plan.
These are the projects presented by the Generalitat:
First block: transformer infrastructures
Of the three blocks that the Generalitat has chosen to group its proposals, the one with the highest investment volume is that of transformer infrastructures, with 860 million euros. And within this block, the most important is the rationalization of water use (528 million, a quarter of the total requested from the state).
This project contains three actions: the modernization of irrigation, the improvement of the water supply network in Barcelona and more water desalination facilities fed by renewable energies.
This section on transformative infrastructures includes two more ideas: mobility of the future (boost to the electric car and development of new tools for the autonomous vehicle, 216 million) and audiovisual and video game innovation (with the hub audiovisual in the three chimneys of Sant Adrià de Besòs, 116 million euros).
Second block: technology
An investment of 673 million euros is planned for this section, divided into seven projects. The most important by volume of money is the creation of a new European chip (180 million). The pandemic has led to a shortage of chips for industry – some of which are made in Asia – and Europe wants to gain sovereignty in this area. The Government’s aim is for Barcelona to be “the core of the design and prototype of the European chip and all its derivatives”.
It also includes money for the digital transformation of the industry (138 million), a new investment fund to invest in companies with “great potential for growth and impact” (120 million) and the creation of hubs technologies that offer spaces and services to the start-ups (80 million), among others.
Third block: environment
Although this block is the lowest in terms of overall value, two of the projects it includes are among the three that would receive the most investment. Specifically, one focuses on the management of manure (to improve its management and to generate energy, 248 million). And the other to the decarbonization of the economy (for example, improving waste management or boosting renewable energy, 254 million). There is a third project dedicated to alternative protein (aid to reorient the meat industry to “more sustainable” products, 54 million).
