The new digital generation of electricity grids for industry will be ‘made in Euskadi’

• It will strengthen the value chain of Basque industry in the electricity grid sector, which has a total turnover of €30 billion and generates more than 6,000 direct jobs.
• The first pilot tests of the new technological equipment will be carried out next year, prioritising the electrification needs of Basque industry.
• This project represents an initial investment of almost €41 million. Over the next three years, total investment is expected to exceed €160 million in R&D and technological development activities.
• It will create 200 direct, highly skilled jobs, as well as 320 indirect jobs, bringing the total to 520 new jobs.
• Highly skilled employment generated by the smart grid industry in the Basque Country, with a particular focus on R&D, will increase by 25% over the next three years.
• The project, led by Iberdrola, will involve 62 companies, 29 of which are SMEs, and will benefit from the collaboration of the Basque Energy Cluster.
• It will also involve various technology centres and organisations from the Basque Network for Science, Technology and Innovation (RVCTI), particularly Tecnalia, Ikerlan and CIC energiGUNE.
• Coordination of this Transformative Project will be carried out from the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub located in Bilbao. This Transformative Project will drive new technological developments through additional investments alongside those already announced on 14 April. In this way, the Basque Government joins this innovation hub promoted by Iberdrola and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. Grid4Industry forms part of the Smart Grids Innovation Hub.

The Basque Government’s Regional Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi, presented the Grid4Industry Transformative Project this morning at Iberdrola’s José Ignacio Berroeta Corporate Centre. It is the fifth industry-based Transformative Project to emerge within the framework of the Industry Plan – Basque Country 2030.

With this new project, the new digital generation of electricity grids for industry will be “made in Euskadi” and exported from here to the rest of the world. New technological solutions will be developed in the Basque Country to digitalise industrial electricity grids and address the major challenges of electrification in industry.

The Grid4Industry Transformative Project was presented this morning at Iberdrola’s José Ignacio Berroeta Corporate Centre. During the event, held in the presence of representatives of the companies, SMEs, technology centres and the cluster participating in the project, speeches were delivered by the Basque Government’s Regional Minister for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, Mikel Jauregi; the Deputy for Economic Promotion of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Ainara Basurko; Iberdrola’s Institutional Delegate in the Basque Country and Chairman of i-DE, Asís Canales; the CEO and Chairman of Arteche, Alexander Artetxe; and José Luis Elejalde, Director of Energy Transition at Tecnalia.

Among those attending the event were the Basque Government’s Deputy Minister for Energy Transition, Irantzu Allende; the Deputy for Treasury and Finance of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Itxaso Berrojalbiz; the CEO of i-DE, Eva Mancera; the Director General of Tecnalia, Jesús Valero; the Director General of Ikerlan, Ion Etxeberria; the Director General of CIC energiGUNE, Nuria Gisbert; and the Director General of the Basque Energy Cluster, José Ignacio Hormaeche.

Regional Minister Mikel Jauregi stated that “industry is decarbonising through electrification, and this requires new technological developments in electricity grids. The Basque Country has the technological and industrial capabilities to lead the new digital generation of electricity grids. Grid4Industry aims for Basque industry to help electrify industry worldwide. This Transformative Project is the best example of combining more industry, better industry and lower emissions.”

Asís Canales, Chairman of i-DE, Iberdrola’s distribution company, and the company’s Institutional Delegate in the Basque Country, highlighted that “Grid4Industry will provide a boost to the value chain of Basque manufacturers of electrical equipment, which Iberdrola has historically supported through purchases worth billions of euros that will increase further under the group’s ambitious grid investment plan. Grids are the backbone of electrification. Without electrification there is no energy independence. Without grids there is no electrification.”

Ainara Basurko, Deputy for Economic Promotion, stressed that “without smart electricity grids there is no energy transition. And without a grid that is adequately prepared, our industry will not be able to electrify its processes, reduce emissions, incorporate renewable energy or remain competitive in global markets.” “We are talking about energy transition, yes. But above all, we are talking about wealth, jobs and an industrial future,” she concluded.

This new Transformative Project will strengthen the value chain of a sector that is particularly important to the Basque economy: the electricity grid sector, which currently records a total turnover of €30 billion and generates more than 6,000 direct jobs.

Grid4Industry will have an initial investment of almost €41 million. Total investment is estimated to exceed €160 million over the next three years in R&D and technological development activities. This project will consolidate a high value-added industrial base linked to energy digitalisation, innovation and competitiveness.

The project will be led by Iberdrola and will involve a total of 62 companies, 29 of which are SMEs, with the collaboration of the Basque Energy Cluster. It will also involve various technology centres and organisations from the Basque Network for Science, Technology and Innovation (RVCTI), with a particularly prominent role for Tecnalia, Ikerlan and CIC energiGUNE. This alliance between industry, knowledge centres and institutions reinforces the public-private collaboration model on which the project is based.

The first pilot tests of the new technological equipment will be carried out next year, with the priority of responding to the electrification needs of Basque industry.

A project with a significant impact on high-quality employment

Grid4Industry will have a direct impact on employment. The project envisages the creation of 200 highly skilled direct jobs and a further 320 indirect jobs, bringing the total to 520 new jobs. In addition, highly skilled employment generated by the Basque smart grids industry will grow by 25% over the next three years.

Coordination of this Transformative Project will be carried out from the Global Smart Grids Innovation Hub, located in Bilbao, a space designed to bring together innovation, technological development and industrial collaboration around smart grids.

This Transformative Project will drive new technological developments through additional investments alongside those already announced during the fifth anniversary of the GSGIH last April. In this way, the Basque Government joins this innovation hub promoted by Iberdrola and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. Grid4Industry forms part of the Smart Grids Innovation Hub, a platform that aims to make the Basque Country an international benchmark in smart electricity grids.

With Grid4Industry, the new digital generation of electricity grids for industry will be designed, developed and validated in Euskadi, with the ambition of addressing today’s needs and leading tomorrow’s opportunities in the electrification of industry.

Transformative Projects: €642 million in investment and 3,622 jobs

To date, five Transformative Projects have been presented, representing an initial investment of more than €642 million, of which €368 million is allocated to R&D and technological development.

Together, the five projects will create more than 3,622 high-quality jobs over the coming years. They will also involve a further 153 companies – most of them SMEs – from the Basque industrial base, with the collaboration of the country’s Technology Centres.

To date, four Transformative Projects have been presented: the project entitled New Aircraft Engine Architectures for Sustainable and Competitive Aviation in Euskadi, the ROBOOST project, and the Smart Hydrogels for Personalised Nanomedicine project.

The first, led by ITP Aero, was created with the ambition of ensuring that Euskadi plays a significant role worldwide in the new generation of future aircraft engines, based on the energy and digital transition. It involves an initial investment of more than €110 million over the next three years, of which more than €60 million will be devoted to R&D and technology development. The project’s impact will include the creation of 800 jobs – 200 direct and 600 indirect.

ROBOOST, meanwhile, represents an initial investment of nearly €50 million over the next three years, of which more than €35 million will be allocated to R&D and technological development activities. The initiative will create 500 jobs – 200 direct and 300 indirect – and will help strengthen the international competitiveness of the Basque industrial base. This Transformative Project will enable Euskadi to position itself as a leading player in an emerging niche: robust and precision robotics.

The Smart Hydrogels for Personalised Nanomedicine project represents an initial investment of €72 million over the next three years, of which around €28 million will be devoted to R&D and technological development. The project, led by I+Med as the anchor company, will create 232 new highly skilled direct jobs, as well as 370 indirect jobs during the 2026–2028 period. In total, 602 new jobs will be created. The implementation of this Transformative Project will make it possible to build a highly advanced biopharmaceutical network around it, positioning Euskadi as a European benchmark in personalised nanomedicine.

The Renewable Fuels Hub Transformative Project will place Euskadi at the forefront of Europe in the technological and industrial development of renewable fuels. This new hub, based at the Energy Intelligence Center (EIC), will bring together Euskadi’s existing technological, industrial and scientific capabilities to drive the development of renewable fuels. Key technologies linked to synthetic fuels, advanced biofuels, CO₂-related technologies and renewable hydrogen will be developed and deployed.

This project represents an initial investment of almost €250 million over the next three years, of which €85 million will be allocated to R&D and technological development activities. It will create 300 highly skilled direct jobs, in addition to 900 indirect jobs, bringing the total to 1,200 new jobs.

The project, led by Petronor and supported by the Basque Government and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, will involve 51 companies, 23 of them SMEs, and will benefit from the collaboration of the Basque Energy Cluster. In addition, it will mainly involve four technology centres from the Basque Network for Science, Technology and Innovation (RVCTI).