The German multinational Basf is studying the construction of a battery recycling plant at its Tarragona facilities, the company's most important in Southern Europe. The general director of the Spanish subsidiary, Carles Navarro, confirmed the project at a press conference, although he did not want to offer details, beyond pointing out that it will have a budget "in the tens of millions." The final decision on the investment will be made at a board meeting at the headquarters in Ludwigshafen, although there is no scheduled date yet.
Navarro, who spoke publicly about the project for the first time, has indicated that it has great public support. In this sense, the German multinational has 130 million euros of financing from different administrations. In this sense, it has 100 million from the European Commission, 16 million from the Government's Perte Vec, and 11 million from the Generalitat. In total, about 200 jobs will be created.
"Tarragona's industrial ecosystem, the port infrastructure and the internal automobile market mean that we have possibilities," Navarro indicated. The La Canonja plant (Tarragona) is the only one of the group competing for the project after other European factories were ruled out. If the project is approved, the plant would be at full capacity between 2028 and 20230.
Basf achieved sales in Spain of 1,358 million euros, which means a decrease of 13% compared to the 1,562 million in 2022. The decrease is the result of the negative effect of prices (-7%), which the previous year had grown significantly, and weaker demand (-6%). Local results have performed more positively than globally, where a 21% drop was recorded. "If we put the figures in context, these results place us at pre-pandemic levels; compared to the 2019 financial year, we would be talking about 7% higher," said the general director, Carles Navarro.
However, the reality of the market has not affected all segments in the same way, nor have they done so in the same way during the year. A positive evolution is observed from less to more in volumes, especially in the second semester in the superabsorbents, lubricants, paints, cosmetics and home care businesses. In terms of prices, all businesses show a clear downward trend as the year progresses, with the exception of Agricultural Solutions, which also manages to exceed the sales figure.
The multinational plans to invest 40 million euros in 2024, which means maintaining the levels of recent years. In 2023 the investment finally stood at 45 million euros, compared to the 43 million planned. Most of this capital (14 million) was allocated to the completion and start-up of the Technology Center for the paint business in Guadalajara, inaugurated last June.
