The European Commission extends the deadline for applications for seven AI gigafactories until December 3, after receiving no bids. Spain has yet to submit its project.
The European Commission has extended the deadline to December 3 for applications to the call seeking to create up to seven artificial intelligence gigafactories in the European Union. The initial deadline was November 12. According to Europa Press, the postponement is due to the lack of received bids.
The initiative aims to mobilise over 30 billion euros in public and private investment. Brussels estimates it will contribute up to 10 billion in European and national funding, with the goal of attracting at least another 20 billion in private capital.
The facilities will be made available to companies, SMEs, startups, research centres, universities, and public administrations. Consortia formed by companies, public entities, and investors can apply, with projects located in a single country or spread across several. The evaluation will be competitive.
Funding will be channelled through the European High-Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC), which, along with 18 member states, including Spain, will jointly purchase access to the computing power of the selected gigafactories. The call foresees two types of aid, with up to 500 million euros per facility in the first and up to 1 billion in the second.
Brussels has also signed letters of intent with AMD, Nvidia, and Qualcomm to facilitate consortia's access to the necessary hardware.
The Spanish public-private consortium, formed by the Government, the Generalitat of Catalonia, Banco Santander, ACS, Telefónica, and Multiverse Computing, has not yet submitted its application, sources familiar with the process have confirmed to Europa Press. Neither have the other countries.
The Spanish Executive authorised an investment of 719 million euros in July through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), known as "SEPI Digital", in the consortium that will develop the Spanish gigafactory. Banco Santander, ACS, and Telefónica will jointly control 47% of the capital, with 15.67% each.
During a forum of the employers' association Ametic, the Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function, Óscar López, stated:
"Europe lost the first part of the technological race, but we do not have to lose the second part of that race."
The Commission expects to make award decisions in early 2027 and begin construction of the first gigafactories that same year.
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