Spain: The Spanish Ministry of Industry and Tourism has awarded over €119m in funding to Votorantim Cimentos for a decarbonisation project at its cement plant in Toral de los Vados. The funding is part of the PERTE industrial decarbonisation funding programme, part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for 2026. In total, €518m in grants have been awarded to 17 projects over the cement, aluminium and paper sectors. The cement sector received the bulk of the funding, accounting for over €300m of the funding.
The project submitted by Votorantim is the construction of a CO₂ capture plant at its plant in the Bierzo region. However, according to Moncloa newspaper, the project is still under internal review, meaning that the allocation of these funds does not automatically guarantee its implementation. The project's budget is reportedly ‘significantly’ higher than the €119m available.
"We need to analyse all the requirements in detail to ensure we have all the necessary guarantees and technical rigour. We're talking about a project that presents a significant challenge and involves coordination with various stakeholders. We're assessing all the circumstances and will see how it all unfolds," said a spokesperson for Votorantim.
Cemex’s plant in Tarragona was awarded €200m.
"The PERTE industrial decarbonisation programme, with a public investment of €3.17bn, will allow the mobilisation of up to €11.8bn euros in total investment, increasing productivity by 10%, generating 8000 jobs and reducing CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere by 13Mt/yr," said the Ministry of Industry.
