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3.4 billion investment in a new data center in Aragón

Jorge Azcón, President of the regional Government of Aragón, has announced a 3.4 billion investment by the company Box2Bit for the construction of a data centre in Cariñena, a town near Zaragoza well known for its Protected Designations of Origin for wine. The CAMPUS EBRO project will create more than 1,950 direct jobs, 350 of them already in the operational phase, and it is estimated that it will have an impact of 4,400 million euros on the GDP of the region. The Government Council has approved the Declaration of General Interest of Aragon (DIGA) of the initiative to speed up the deadlines, with the works scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2005 and to be completed in 2029.

Cariñena is a town of about 3,000 inhabitants, excellently communicated by the A23 motorway with both Zaragoza, 50 km, and Valencia, 265 km.

About Box2Bit

Box2bit, founded in 2021, specializes in sustainable data centres, with a goal of 100% renewable energy consumption, and it is present in more than 5 countries.

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Green Energy

Aragon attracts 700 million euro investment for hydrogen and green ammonia plant in the city of Caspe

Aragon reinforces its leadership in clean energies with an investment of 700 million euros to produce hydrogen and green ammonia

The President of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, has announced an important investment of 700 million euros by the company Alkeymia to build a hydrogen and green ammonia production plant in Caspe. This project has been declared a project of general interest for the region by the Government of Aragón and it is expected to start operating in 2025.

The plant will generate approximately 1,000 jobs during its construction phase and more than 85 direct jobs during its operation. This new complex will house two renewable energy plants will guarantee a sustainable supply, which will allow progress towards climate neutrality and reinforce Aragon’s position as a reference in the energy transition.

This project underscores Aragon’s ability to attract investment in strategic sectors, thanks to its propitious environment for the implementation of renewable energy and its advanced infrastructure for the development of new energy projects.

Aragon, a privileged environment for investment in renewable energy

Aragon offers a favourable environment for attracting investment in innovative sectors, especially in clean energy. The region has a strategic geographical location and a high potential in renewable resources such as the sun and wind, which facilitates the installation of energy generation infrastructures. In addition, the Government of Aragon has launched several initiatives to support research, development and implementation of sustainable technologies, including aid for the integration of renewable energies in mobility and logistics.

Aragon’s commitment to innovation and sustainability, together with a regulatory framework that favours investment and the development of large projects, has made the region a benchmark for decarbonization in Europe. This ecosystem, which combines public-private cooperation and institutional support, allows the region not only to attract large projects such as Alkeymia, but also to consolidate a business network committed to the green economy.

This project in Caspe and other initiatives, aligned with the European Green Pact, reinforce Aragon’s commitment to the energy transition, highlighting its role as a hub of innovation and sustainability in southern Europe.

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Aragon Technology Hub Green Energy

BWB will invest 230 million in a new data center and four solar plants in Aragon

Aragon continues to position itself as a benchmark in the digital economy as well as in the renewable energy sector

BWB's investment, born from the heat of Amazon Web Services, will create 2,200 jobs

The company Best Wonder Business (BWB) will launch a new data center in the Huesca Logistics Platform (Plhus) that will be powered entirely by solar energy produced by four photovoltaic plants that the company will install in the province of Zaragoza, in the municipalities of Perdiguera and Alfajarín, and which will connect with the Peñaflor substation.

This new business project that will involve a total investment of 230 million euros and the creation of 2,200 jobs is divided into three phases. The first phase is the construction of the four photovoltaic plants that will generate 178 MWp. Subsequently, the data processing center that will be installed on a 40,000-square-meter plot of land in Plhus generating 8 MW each phase. Both projects will be completed by the end of 2024.

The BWB project is almost the same size as that of the large multinationals but in this case it serves a complementary objective because they create a cabin where technical services are provided but the data is not processed. In other words, BWB offers a place to store and process information with all the redundant security systems, three individual power lines and restricted access.

Among the 2,200 jobs created, they will mostly require highly specialized personnel such as telecommunications and systems engineers, electrical and industrial engineers, as well as chemical and environmental engineers. 

For their operation, these centers require high energy consumption, hence the importance for BWB of simultaneously promoting the four solar plants planned in Alfajarín and Perdiguera, which will also allow it to guarantee the use of 100% renewable energy. Thus, the project will be considered eco-sustainable because it has large-scale batteries to reduce the price of electricity during peak hours, aerothermal energy for cooling and construction materials with a footprint carbon neutral.

A strategic sector

Antonio Macías, CEO of Bester – group where BWB is a part of – has assured that Aragon and Huesca in particular offer magnificent conditions for the installation of this type of company since the trunk fiber optic line that nests in Spain and joins the big capitals passes through here.

With this new business investment, Aragon continues to position itself as a benchmark in the digital economy, as well as in the renewable energy sector. The BWB center will be located in Plhus next to one of the three data centers promoted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in our Autonomous Community, which will come into operation this year and in which the company estimates a total investment of 2,000 million euros and the generation of up to 1,300 jobs over the next ten years.

ICT infrastructures are the basis of the entire value chain of the new digital economy, which generates quality employment, improves services, encourages the creation of start-ups and companies with greater added value and facilitates equal opportunities.

Source: Aragonhoy

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Green Energy Pharmaceutical

Aragon triples funds raised in the H2020 program and is now among the leading Autonomous Communities in European resources for R + D + i

Regional companies and public entities achieve a return of 176.3 million euros from their participation in 500 EU-funded projects
SMEs, public technology and research centers, and the university achieve the highest funding in strategic areas such as clean energy, industry and agri-food

Aragon has achieved a return of 176.3 million euros in the European Horizon 2020 program to promote research and innovation, tripling its result from the previous funding plan of the European Commission and placing the Autonomous Community as the sixth in Spain in terms of fundraising.

This number is the result of the efforts of 145 Aragonese entities and agents, who have participated with excellent results in H2020. 

The biggest share of this amount was achieved by Aragonese companies, and especially small and medium-sized ones (SMEs), who have participated in 500 financed projects, accounting for almost 50 million euros (27.9% of total return).

The performance of the Aragonese technology centers such as the Technological Institute of Aragon ITAINNOVA and Aitiip Technological Center has also been remarkable, with 26.7% of the total funds obtained and a global amount of 47.16 million euros. University of Zaragoza, with 34 million euros, represents 19.2%; public research centers, 13.7% with just over 24 million euros; while the public administration represents 4.8%, exceeding 8.5 million euros.

Among the main participating agents, there are also the Institute of Materials Sciences of Aragon and the Institute of Carbochemistry, both dependent on the Higher Council for Scientific Research, as well as the Foundation for the Development of New Hydrogen Technologies, the Zaragoza Logistic Center Foundation, the Aragonese Health Service, the Iberus Campus of International Excellence or the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza.

From the sectors’ perspective, those who have obtained the highest returns are clean, safe and efficient energy (29.9 million); nanotechnologies, materials and biotechnology (26.5 million); and bioeconomy and food security (13.7 million). In fact, they account for 40% of the funds capitalized by Aragon and confirm the Community’s strategic specialization in the fields of energy (hydrogen and fuel cells), industry and agri-food.

In addition, this program has been supported by all actors of the Aragonese science and technology system, which speaks of good health and coordination of the regional ecosystem. The excellent results obtained by the Aragonese entities participating in the program, as well as by the rest of the Autonomous Communities, have led Spain to rank fourth in volume of subsidies received, only behind Germany, the United Kingdom and France.

The new Horizon Europe framework program, endowed with 95,517 million euros for the next seven years, aims to achieve the greatest scientific, technological, economic and social impact of EU investments in R & D & I, promoting the competitiveness of the regions and Member States. It is estimated that it could generate 11 euros for every euro invested and create up to 320,000 new highly-skilled jobs by 2040.

Source: Aragonhoy

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Green Energy

Pontegadea joins forces with Repsol and invests 245 million in a wind farm in Aragon

The project comprises 89 wind turbines, with a capacity of 335 megawatts, all located in the Zaragoza province
The Delta wind project keeps up the investment euphoria in renewable energies in Aragon

The business of renewable energies in Aragon maintains its steady growth with Pontegadea Inversiones acquiring 49% of Repsol’s Delta Wind Park, which operates 89 wind turbines in the region.

Repsol has reached an agreement with one of the main private investment groups in the world – the fund that manages the personal fortune of Zara owner Amancio Ortega – to partner in the Delta wind project, made up of eight wind farms located in the province of Zaragoza. Its 89 wind turbines, all of them fully operational since last March, add up to 335 megawatts (MW) of installed power, .

Under the agreement, Pontegadea invests 245 million euros to take a 49% stake in Delta, which means valuing these assets at 500 million, that is, 5.6 million for each windmill. This operation is Pontgadea’s first foray in the renewable energy sector, following in the footsteps of other great fortunes and multinationals that have been seduced by the green energies of Aragon, such as Amazon.

The parks are located in the surroundings of the Zaragoza towns of Villar de los Navarros (in the county of Campo de Daroca), where 236 MW are located; and Fuentes de Ebro (Ribera Baja de Ebro), with almost 100 MW. 

These facilities began operating in tests a year ago. Construction involved the investment of 300 million euros, and works were completed in less than 12 months with tips of up to 600 workers involved. Delta will produce 992 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy per year, equivalent to the average annual consumption of 300,000 homes, preventing the emission of one million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere per year.

Thanks to its favorable wind conditions and orographic features, Aragon has become one of the epicenters in the deployment of wind farms in Spain.

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Green Energy

In 2020, Aragón covered all its local energy consumption with renewables

Aragón's production of renewable energy exceeded local energy consumption by 22% in 2020, following a boom in green investments likely to continue in 2021.

Substantial investments have been made in the last years by both national and international groups, especially in the provinces of Zaragoza and Teruel. Proof of this are the almost 1,000 megawatts (MW) of wind and photovoltaic parks put into service last year, according to provisional data provided by Red Eléctrica de España (REE). In 2019, Aragón connected a total of 1.931 MW to the grid.

The largest source of energy in the region is the wind, accounting for 44.6% of total production, or 4,075 MW, in 2020. 14.6% and 12.2% of production came from hydraulic and photovoltaic plants, respectively.

Having doubled its capacity in only two years, Aragón is now the second Spanish region in terms of wind energy production, up from the fifth place it occupied in the same ranking only a year earlier.

Regional administration has played a key role in the recent investment boom, speeding up the approval process for new projects.  The tailwind for renewable energy in Aragón will persist in the near future: More than 400 new projects, totalling 12,500 MW, have been requested already for 2021.