Granada’s Industry Eligible for Million-Euro Grants to Undergo Energy Transition
Councillor Paradela alongside Mayor Marifrán Carazo and Gerardo Cuerva.
The Regional Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, Jorge Paradela, visited Granada this Friday to present a new grant program aimed at industrial SMEs. The goal is for Granada-based companies—spanning a wide range of sectors, including metallurgy and mining—to be eligible for incentives to help them carry out their energy transition.
The aim, according to the minister, is for companies “to see a reduction in their energy bills,” thereby decreasing their overall costs. Paradela was accompanied by the President of the Granada Confederation of Entrepreneurs, Gerardo Cuerva; the Mayor of Granada, Marifrán Carazo; and the Regional Government Delegate, Antonio Granados.
“The goal of the new Integrated Incentives for Competitiveness and Energy program is to support industrial companies in simultaneously improving both their competitiveness and energy efficiency,” explained the minister. He emphasized that the new program is based on the belief that “every industrial sector today must do two things: enhance competitiveness and productivity, and work on improving energy efficiency and reducing energy costs.”
The Programs
The first program will focus on strengthening value chains in 19 of Andalusia’s most strategic industrial sectors, within the framework of the CRECE Industry Action Plan, and will have a budget of €109 million. The second program, with €51 million in funding, aims to promote an industrial ecosystem around renewable hydrogen. The third program, dedicated to sustainable mining, will receive €40 million, while the fourth, focused on improving and modernizing production spaces, will have a €50 million budget.
The Grants
The four programs will be supported through two main funding lines. The first, focused on industrial competitiveness, will allocate aid through a competitive process, selecting projects with the greatest potential for economic and social impact. The second line will promote energy efficiency and the responsible use of energy within industrial value chains, sustainable mining, and production spaces in Andalusia. In this case, grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to applicants meeting the program criteria.
“This is a tool tailored to the real needs of our production network, offering a wide range of possibilities with more than 30 eligible activities, covering both competitiveness and energy efficiency,” said Paradela.
The first call for proposals—those related to industrial value chains—will open in May, with applications accepted starting in June. The objective is to mobilize €1 billion in investment and create 2,100 jobs.
One-Stop Shop
Administrative streamlining was a key principle in designing these new grants. A single access point will be created for applying to both funding lines, regardless of which administrative body is responsible for processing the application. Grants related to competitiveness will be managed by the General Secretariat for Industry and Mines, while those linked to energy efficiency will be handled by the Andalusian Energy Agency, which reports to the Ministry. Another key aspect of the program’s design is the high level of automation and robotization of procedures, aimed at speeding up the response time.
Complementary Incentives
In addition to the new Integrated Incentives program, the minister also announced that the third round of Complementary Incentives to Regional Economic Aid is now open. This brings the total support from the Andalusian government for the industrial sector to €400 million: €250 million from the 2021–2027 FEDER funds for industrial SMEs and €150 million in regional funds to support strategic projects in the manufacturing, aerospace, and advanced logistics sectors.
“This tool sets Andalusia apart from other regions in terms of incentive offerings and allows us to be one of the European regions with the highest aid percentages for major industrial investments,” Paradela emphasized.
“In the last three years, Andalusia has attracted €16.3 billion in industrial investment, which shows that we’re in a very exciting phase of industrial growth. This is the path we want to continue on, because industry anchors population to the territory and generates high-quality jobs,” he concluded.