The Department of Economic transformation, Industry, knowledge and Universities has presented to the funds of the European recovery mechanism 'next Generation' industrial projects in the province of Huelva worth 2.575 million euros. This was highlighted by Rogelio Velasco at the celebration of Industry Day 2021, organized by the Association of Chemical, Basic and Energy Industries of Huelva (AIQBE). The President of this association, Carlos Ortiz, and the renowned scientist and entrepreneur, elected President of the International Union of pure and applied Chemistry, Javier García, also participated in this meeting.

Velasco has emphasized that this investment of 2.575 million located in Huelva has associated an estimated generation of around 5,500 jobs between direct and indirect and those who believe in the construction of the infrastructure envisaged in each of the actions. This amount is articulated through three major tractor projects. The first focuses on industrial innovation actions in the chemical and metallurgical sectors, the second focuses on the development of circular economy initiatives in metal mining and metallurgy, and the third refers to projects for the energy use of second-generation biofuels from residual raw materials. All these interventions are driven by large companies that are already active in the onubene industry.

The economic transformation advisor has emphasized that "with these resources, Huelva has the opportunity for his industry to continue to grow and strengthen." For Andalucía as a whole, its department has proposed to be financed through this instrument "ten large industrial projects, with an initial investment of 5 billion, to which must be added another 1 billion from aeronautical actions and industry 4.0, with which the generation of some 10,000 jobs is planned together".

Declaration of strategic interest of Atlantic CopperRogelio Velasco's' CirCular 'has advanced that precisely one of the actions included in the tractor projects around Huelva has been declared of strategic interest by the Junta de Andalucía. It is' CirCular'of the company Atlantic Copper S.L.U, which consists of the construction of an electrical and electronic material recycling plant in its installations in Huelva. This initiative will involve a direct investment of EUR 262 million and the generation of 350 direct, indirect and induced jobs.

The future recycling plant will have a processing capacity of 60,000 tons per year of the metallic fractions of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), from which non-ferrous metals such as copper, nickel, tin, zinc, and precious metals such as gold, silver, palladium and platinum will be recovered. It will be carried out in two areas of the port precinct: one of the areas will be dedicated to the reception of raw material, sorting and sampling, and the other, which will be used for furnaces and auxiliary systems, will be developed in the company's current factory space.

The declaration of strategic interest implies the preferential impetus in the administrative processing of the permits and authorization necessary for the implementation of relevant business projects in order to ensure that the investment does not miss its opportunity to develop in Andalusia and does not relocate to other environments.

Apart from these initiatives linked to the 'next Generation', the advisor for Economic transformation has highlighted the attractiveness of the onuban industry to attract new private sector investments that, in his view, will allow "diversification and conversion of the productive fabric and the generation of quality employment in the province". Among these actions, he referred to the future green hydrogen production plant in Iberdrola, the largest in Europe or the installation of photovoltaic technology in the province by Ence and Tentusol.

The strength of the industrial sector in Andalucía Rogelio Velasco has highlighted the strength of the industrial sector in the region, even though it has suffered from the pandemic like all other economic activities. "in the case of Andalusia, with an industrial contribution to the regional VAB significantly lower than the national average, it has been showing lower falls than those suffered by other regions such as Catalonia, Comunidad Valenciana or Madrid", he said. In this context, Velasco has stressed that "the chemical sector offers greater stability and resilience, which can provide better employment quality indices than other segments of the economy". "it accumulates years of growth in the region, at the rate of the increase in exports from the poles of Huelva and Campo de Gibraltar and the rise in foreign investment," he insisted.

The Minister of Economic transformation has pointed out that the Andalusian government is focused on the impetus of the new industrial policy of Andalusia with 2030 horizon, which will articulate the action of the Administration in this area. This strategy "aims to differentiate Andalusia as an industrial region and to boost the growth of the sector in solvency, dimension, quality and value for society," he said. The new strategy includes three promotion plans for short-, medium- and long-term scenarios, and Velasco has indicated that his department "is accelerating" the first of these plans, the "grow Industry" Action Plan.