Tesla will choose in which European country it will build the next 'Gigafactory' in 2017. Portugal is an excellent candidate, for several reasons.
Portugal is a strong candidate to receive the Gigafactory 2 – we remind you that 'Gigafactory' is the name that the North American manufacturer Tesla gives to its state-of-the-art factories (see all the details here).
In the race to attract Tesla's millions are Portugal, Spain, France, the Netherlands and some Eastern European countries.
If built in Portugal, Tesla's Gigafactory could have huge repercussions on the national GDP. Aware of the importance of this industrial colossus, the Ministry of Environment office confirmed to Jornal Económico that the Deputy Secretary of State for the Environment, José Mendes, met with representatives of the US company in Portugal, a few months ago, in an attempt to to attract Tesla to our country.
Also in civil society, debate groups with interest in this matter are emerging. One of the most noticed is ‘GigainPortugal’ – you can access its Facebook page here – which insisted on bringing together 16 good reasons for Tesla to install one of its factories on national soil. Are they:
- Good seaports;
- Multi-modal transport network for the Europe, Middle East, Africa and the United States;
- 50% of the energy produced in Portugal is generated from renewable sources . Gigafactory could store and return excess energy to the distribution network;
- We are a highly efficient automotive cluster. The Renault factory in Cacia was considered the best factory of the French Group in 2016, and Bosch has been awarded for its correct management;
- the infamous Logistics Platform in Poceirão , is one of the potential places for Gigafactory implementation in Portugal. There are several arguments: privileged sun exposure, space for infrastructure implementation, cost of land and privileged location (20 minutes from Lisbon, 15 minutes from the Port of Setúbal, 10 minutes from the future Alcochete Airport).
- Proximity to the new Lisbon Airport;
- Direct flights to all parts of the world from Lisbon;
- There are more than 200 companies in Portugal , components suppliers for the automotive industry (Continental, Siemens, Bosch, Delphi, etc.);
- Skilled and motivated workforce.
- Lower cost per worker to the European average;
- Economic environment conducive to innovation;
- We were one of the first countries to set up an electrical charging network;
- Excellent sun exposure;
- Portugal has the Europe's largest Lithium reserves;
- Excellence know-how in infrastructure construction;
- Portugal and the European Union are able to propose tax benefits and investment support.
Tesla's new factory in Europe (hopefully in Portugal…) is one of the builder's main pillars to increase annual production – currently limited to 80,000 units/year – and thus achieve the financial stability that has been lacking in recent years.