2023, a wasted year for the decarbonization of the Spanish industry?

• Last year, only 45% of the total of the 7.063 billion euros planned in the General State Budget for energy and industry policies identified by Foro Industria y Energía (FIE) was executed.
• The PERTE for Industrial Decarbonization, initially endowed with 3.1 billion euros of public investment, coming from the Ministries of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, is still in the project application phase and will not start with the first awards until after April 17

If 2023 was a year marked by European regulation and setting objectives for the entire European Union regarding energy transition and industry decarbonization by 2030, 2024 should be the year that sets the pace for that common path, which seems not as easily traversable as the Spanish industry would like due to delays in regulatory developments and the execution of available funds, mainly Next-Generation.

According to a preview of the analysis “Budget execution of resources destined for industrial energy management-PGE 2023” prepared by the Industry and Energy Forum based on data provided this week by the Ministry of Finance, of the initially planned 7.063 billion euros by the Government for industrial energy management policies identified by the FIE, at the end of December, only 45% of the initial budget and 56% of the budgets modified throughout the year (which reduced resources for industrial energy management to 5.652.258.352,84 euros) were executed.

In this analysis, the FIE identifies those budget items that are directly or indirectly related to industrial energy management. These are projects and programs that depend on both the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism (MICYT) and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITERD), and the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (MRR) and are basically included in expenditure policy 42 (Industry and Energy), although there are also some included in policy 46 (Research, development, innovation, and digitization).

Budget execution of resources destined for industrial energy management PGE 2023

Source Ministry of Finance and own elaboration

According to the director of the Industry and Energy Forum, Albert Concepción, “it should not be understood that 2023 has been a barren year, but we hope that it has served to lay the foundations of the administrative and financial platform that drives the acceleration of the decarbonization of the Spanish industry, which is one of the great community objectives for the next seven years.”

Decarbonization PERTE

This week, the Minister of Industry, Jordi Hereu, reported that the Decarbonization PERTE: transition to clean energies has not yet started. This PERTE, with a transversal nature, is aimed at the entire industry to address the transition to clean energies and is endowed with 3.1 billion in public investment, 1 billion of which comes from the Ministry of Industry.

“The investment capacity in energy transition is what drives the advancement of industrial transformation towards a decarbonized economy.”

The first call opened in January 2024 and is open until April 17. So far, a total of 123 applications have been received, with industrial projects proposing a reduction of more than 5.18 million tons of CO2 emissions each year.

Renewable hydrogen PERTE

From the analysis of the report prepared by the FIE, the modification of the initial budget of the program for the PERTE of renewable energies, renewable hydrogen, and storage (PERTE ERHA) stands out, which, although it had an initial credit of 672.817.000.00 euros, finally reduced its final budget to just over half (372.817.000,00 euros), which is what has been able to be executed in the different lines of aid for specific renewable hydrogen projects awarded throughout 2023 through the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE).

Another striking item is the one destined for the Electrointensive Statute, specified in the Compensation Program for electrointensive consumers, which had an initial budget for 2023 of 88 million euros and was reduced to 69.7 million, but only 23.84 million euros were executed last year, probably due to the modification of the Electrointensive Consumers statute by Royal Decree in June 2023.

Work methodology

The FIE analysis “Budget execution of resources destined for industrial energy management-PGE 2023” analyzes the resources destined for industrial energy management in the 2023 PGEs, identifying those items that are directly or indirectly related to this issue. It divides the typology of resources into three types (direct, transversal, and undefined) and includes resources from both the MICYT, MITERD, and the MRR. It analyzes both those resources called capital transfers (Chapter 7) and those called Financial Assets (Chapter 8).

Direct resources

These are those that represent a direct investment for the industry and its energy management, either through transfers (for example, grants or non-repayable aids) or through financial assets (loans). This is the case, for example, of programs compensating for costs due to CO2 emissions.

Transversal resources

We consider as transversal resources those in which, although they are not exclusively focused on industrial energy management, they may involve the incorporation of a part as direct resources to the industry in its energy management. This is the case of the “Support Line for Strategic Projects for Industrial Transition-PERTE,” which refers to innovative projects “that involve a real transformation of the industry in terms of energy efficiency, sustainability, and digital transformation.”

Also included are those projects considered essential for the development of industrial energy management, although they may also apply to other areas. This is the case, for example, of projects such as the Roadmap for renewable hydrogen and its sectoral integration.

Undefined resources

These are those in which, although they may be related to energy management, it is not possible to assign either all or part of them to the industry. This is the case for a large part of the projects of the IDAE directed at “societies, public entities, companies, foundations, and the rest of the state public sector”. For example, the PGEs allocated 430 million euros to the “Development of Innovative Renewable Energies integrated into buildings and productive processes” that only affect publicly owned entities, of which marginally there are some industrial participations (a part of the holding SEPI + some of the Autonomous Communities).