The decision by ICL, led in Spain by Alberto Serfaty, represents a significant setback for the economy of Catalonia. This investment was intended to relaunch quality industrial activity in the Bages region and create new jobs outside the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
The loss of this investment is terrible news for the Catalan economy and for industrial decentralization.
One of the determining factors in the cancellation was the failure to secure a 140 million euro subsidy that the company expected to receive from the European Commission to finance the project. Without this support, financial viability was compromised.
In addition to the funding issue, the group has implemented a change in its global strategy. This modification is due to lower-than-initially projected demand for electric vehicles, affecting ICL's industrial planning. The land in Sallent will remain unused, although this may be welcomed by the neighborhood groups who protested against the factory.
