The Spanish government selects Móra la Nova as a candidate for a European AI gigafactory.

MadridThe Spanish government has chosen the Catalan town of Móra la Nova, in the Ribera d'Ebre region, as a candidate to host one of the four artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactories that the European Union wants to develop. The project would be led by the State, the Generalitat (Catalan government), and Telefónica, and involves an investment of approximately €5 billion, as announced. The Vanguard and government sources confirm to ARA. For now, it is a candidacy that Pedro Sánchez's government has presented to Brussels and, therefore, will have to compete with proposals from other states. Optical, essential for a gigafactory of these characteristics.

The selection of Móra la Nova was one of the topics that Pedro Sánchez and Salvador Illa addressed in the surprise meeting this Friday morning at Moncloa, amid the political crisis in the Civil Guard case. Calle Ferraz, within the framework of the investigation opened by the Supreme Court. The judge has authorized the collection of information from the party's current secretary general, Santos Cerdán.

In a statement, the Spanish government maintains that the planned location for the gigafactory is "a strategic enclave close to the AI factory at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), a leading European computing hub." In fact, the government explains that the initiative was launched last February between the BSC, the Generalitat (Catalan government), and the Spanish government. "This is when they began to explore the possibility of presenting Catalonia, until they arrived at Móra la Nova as a location that met all the necessary conditions for a facility of these characteristics, both in terms of land availability and electrical power."

In April, Brussels announced the creation of a €20 billion fund to developAI gigafactories on the Old Continent, thus fostering the strategic autonomy it so yearns for. The European Commission's goal is to boost the AI industry on the community blog and avoid falling too far behind in the AI race, led by powers like the United States and China.

Public-private business consortium

The proposal was submitted by a public-private business consortium led by Telefónica, in collaboration with the Spanish government. According to the Spanish government, negotiations are also underway to bring in a major international investment partner. If the project is ultimately selected, it will receive funding from the European Commission through the InvestAI program.