La Junta aborda desafíos de descarbonización, materias primas críticas y defensa con entidades europeas.

The Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining of the Andalusian Government, Jorge Paradela, has discussed for two days with various European entities and community representatives in Brussels the decarbonization challenges facing the Andalusian industry, the role of Andalusia as a key player in the supply of critical raw materials, and the mechanisms for the Andalusian industrial sector to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the increase in security and defense budgets and the associated increase in domestic industrial production.

The Minister’s agenda in Brussels began with a meeting with the Director of the Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment of the European Commission (CINEA), Paloma Aba, the body responsible for managing European programs related to climate action, decarbonization, and energy transition. «We discussed the Innovation Fund and hydrogen auctions, along with the Connecting Europe mechanism, a fund that finances investments in transport, energy infrastructure, and digital projects to advance greater connectivity between EU Member States.» In this regard, the Minister highlighted the importance of his role, «supporting interconnection infrastructures like H2Med, the large green hydrogen corridor that will connect the Peninsula with Europe, as well as part of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley for its export component, and also the hydrogen backbone network that will include the future branch to Algeciras.»

Jorge Paradela also met with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, a European association in which the Andalusian Government participates as a partner through the Andalusian Energy Agency. In this meeting, where they discussed the situation of renewable hydrogen projects and the industrial ecosystem around this energy vector, they both emphasized «the necessary development of an energy storage strategy across EU countries», as well as the importance of having a European Decarbonization Bank similar to the current European Hydrogen Bank.

Storage and its development were also key topics discussed during the Minister’s meeting with the CEO of Solar Power Europe, Walburga Hemetsberger. They agreed on the maturity of this technology and the need to strengthen system flexibility. Andalusia shared its experience, as the increase in electricity generation capacity in the region is based on renewable energies, especially photovoltaics. They also discussed the currently open consultation on network infrastructures, to which the Andalusian Government will contribute with its input. «In this infrastructure package, which must be as ambitious as possible because Europe needs to invest more in electricity transmission and distribution networks, Andalusia has much to contribute.»

The Minister of Industry, Energy, and Mining, accompanied by the Deputy Minister, Cristóbal Sánchez, and the Andalusian Government’s delegate in Brussels, Catalina de Miguel, discussed with officials from the Directorate-General for Defense, Industry, and Space of the European Commission the sector’s challenges, strengths of Andalusia, as well as the support instruments provided by the Andalusian Government for this industry. This meeting took place just one week after the active participation of the Andalusian Government in the fourth edition of the International Defense and Security Fair (FEINDEF) in Madrid. «In the meeting, we discussed new instruments such as the SAFE initiative, which aims to mobilize €150 billion in loans to increase defense spending in the European Union,» and above all, «we analyzed the possible mechanisms to involve our auxiliary industry in the early stages of programs promoted by major defense contractors.» In this context, Jorge Paradela shared the initiative launched with Innova IRV to promote new industrial activity linked to four challenges of dual-use technologies, with civil and military applications, a project that was well-received by the representatives of the Defense Directorate-General as it aligns with the European strategy.

During the meeting with the Director-General of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship, and SMEs of the European Commission, DG Grow, Joaquim Nunes de Almeida, the focus was on the mining projects based in Andalusia that have been deemed strategic by the EU, referring to Atlantic Copper and Cobre las Cruces, and European objectives to accelerate industry decarbonization.

Lastly, the Minister held meetings with the Member of the European Parliament and Vice-Coordinator of International Trade in the European Parliament, Juan Ignacio Zoido, and with the Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament, Carmen Crespo, with whom he discussed the contributions of the European People’s Party regarding the defense industry and its impact on businesses, and the importance of Europe focusing on the need to invest in water infrastructure.

Minister Paradela after a meeting with the Director of the Executive Agency for Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment of the European Commission (CINEA), Paloma Aba.