Jaume Baró defends that the Generalitat is working to achieve more legal certainty
The energy transition can be a great lever for reindustrialization in Catalonia, but it requires less bureaucracy and more economic incentives for companies to develop projects, according to various experts.
This was the consensus on a day on energy transition in industry and automotive organized this Thursday by AELEC and «La Vanguardia», in collaboration with the entrepreneur Pimec, in Barcelona, where an report from Deloitte Monitor was also presented.
The document, presented by Monitor Deloitte Laureano Álvarez Partner, shows how the industry is capable of generating a «much more resilient» economy, as the energy transition can create new opportunities for the sector.
«The opportunities are there, but we also need to act to take advantage of them,» and has detailed that these opportunities are decarbonized with renewable electricity and the competitive advantage that the territory has for prices and raw materials.
The role of SMEs
The report also indicates that 99% of the Spanish industrial fabric is made up of SMEs, although Álvarez has regretted that energy transition projects require economic investments that are difficult for small and medium-sized companies to assume.
In a roundtable discussion after the report, the president of the Pimec Energy Commission, Jose Enrique Vázquez, agreed that «Administratively it is very difficult for SMEs to enter the energy transition.»
Similarly, the director of regulation at Aelec, Marta Castro, has valued that this transition must provide the «necessary elements» so that the industry is viable, to which the president of the efficient energy cluster of Catalonia (CEEC), Quim Duara, has responded that this should be taken into account.
On the other hand, the founding partner of Innova IT and president of Smartech Cluster, Francesc Rodon, has stated that energy can be a factor that helps companies be more competitive, but has asked administrations to promote education and training in the sector.
Support from the administration
In another roundtable discussion in the automotive sector, the Director General of Industry of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Oriol Alcoba, has argued that the administration should support the sector to be more competitive and provide incentives to improve the electric car.
In this sense, the CEO of EBRO, Pedro Calef, has said that without the collaboration of all administrations, the process of reindustrialization they have carried out at the former Nissan factory would not have been possible, and has said that Catalonia must be proactive in solving its problems and recovering the industry.
For the cluster manager of CIAC, Josep Nadal, the most important thing is to make proposals to the Generalitat to recover the strength of the industry, as «not everything can be complaints,» while the CEO of DGOA, Jordi Miró, has highlighted the role of technology.
Educating
To close the day, the Secretary General of the Generalitat, Jaume Baró, highlighted the importance of the «Catalunya Leadra» plan, as it is a clear «roadmap» for the region to regain economic leadership.
He also said that they are working to renew the investment collection plan and has ensured that the Generalitat is working to achieve more legal security and stability for companies to see an attractive implementation in Catalonia.
Furthermore, he has defended the need to educate society in general about energy transition projects and has exemplified this with the Repsol Petrochemical complex in Tarragona.
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