The Government proposes 27 Catalan projects to opt for Next Generation EU funds

The Government of the Generalitat has selected a total of 27 emblematic Catalan projects that will be candidates to opt for resources from the European Next Generation EU fund, a financing mechanism promoted to contribute to economic and social reconstruction after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The chosen initiatives range from decarbonization projects, the production of electric batteries for the automotive sector, or the rationalization of water use, among others.

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The 27 projects have been selected by the Commission for the elaboration of the Plan for economic reactivation and social protection (CORECO) from among the 542 initiatives presented by the Administration (Generalitat and local entities), private companies, consortia, and third sector entities, which have sent their proposals through the electronic mailboxes enabled by the Generalitat. The mailboxes will remain open to receive proposals until the Government of the Generalitat and the State Executive make public the initial calls to request the funds.

Over the last few months, CORECO has studied and evaluated the 542 proposals jointly with the Catalonia-Next Generation EU Advisory Committee (CONEXT CAT-EU), the group of experts created expressly to promote those projects with the most potential and transformative capacity. The projects have also been shared with economic and social actors in the country, as well as with representatives of local entities. The selection has been made based on 10 prioritization criteria: the uniqueness of the projects, their degree of maturity, the amount, the commercialization potential, the capacity to invest in future trends, their strong leadership, the contribution to the reindustrialization of the country, the promotion of territorial balance, the contribution to the fight against climate change, and the capacity to generate well-being and social progress.

In their evaluation, the experts have also taken into account the feasibility of the projects, that is, the capacity of their promoters to carry them out within the timeline established by the Next Generation EU funds. In this sense, it is expected that, if they access the funds, all the emblematic projects proposed by CORECO could begin to be executed throughout this year.

A proposal to boost the country's competitiveness

The result of this selection process is the Next Generation Catalonia document, which identifies 27 emblematic projects that, on the one hand, have the capacity to increase Catalonia's competitiveness and development potential; and that, on the other hand, can stimulate the profound changes the economy needs to transform the current Catalan productive model into a more prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable one. In this way, the projects cover such diverse areas as health, energy efficiency, decarbonization, mobility, training, telecommunications, and digital transformation.

All proposals are aligned with the objectives of the Plan for the economic reactivation and social protection of Catalonia approved by the Catalan Executive last July. The Plan sets five strategic axes that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the European Green Deal, and the European Digital Strategy. These five axes are: Economy for Life, Ecological Transition, Digital Transformation, Knowledge Society, and Cross-cutting Vectors.

The selected projects have the capacity to increase Catalonia's competitiveness and development potential, and can stimulate the profound changes the economy needs

Among the 27 selected projects ---which involve the mobilization of more than €41,000 M---, the one with the largest budget stands out, called Carbon recovery, which aims to position Catalonia as a European benchmark in decarbonizationand circular economy. Among its promoters are the Generalitat, companies, clusters, technology centers, and research centers.

The second project with the largest budget is the Battery Hub, which aims to strengthen the value chain of electric batteries in Catalonia and Southern Europe. The actors involved are the Generalitat, companies from the mobility and technology sectors, as well as universities and technology and research centers.

The project with the largest budget is Carbon recovery, which aims to position Catalonia as a European benchmark in decarbonization and circular economy

The third largest project is calledHydrogen Valley of Catalonia, a platform that aims to bring together different initiatives around green hydrogenin Catalonia to position the country as a European benchmark in the generation, storage, distribution, and uses of this chemical element. The initiative is also the result of public-private collaboration and involves the Generalitat, associations, chambers, municipal entities, and companies.

The Next Generation Catalonia document with the specific content of the 27 projects presented can be consulted on the website of the Department of the Vice-presidency and of Economy and Finance.