The appointment of Francisco Blanco Ángel (Gijón, 1969) as General Secretary for Industry and SMEs took place in the middle of Christmas – he took office on December 29 – and, therefore, with his new destination, the Ministry of Industry , Commerce and Tourism, operating at medium throttle. For this reason, when this interview was conducted last Wednesday, the former socialist senator still did not have a corporate mobile phone or assigned personal assistant. However, the Asturian economist, who was Minister of Industry of the Principality between 2015 and 2017, already has very clear priorities for his new position, key to the energy transformation of the sector in Asturias and the rest of Spain.
– What will be your first tasks as Secretary General?
–We have the process of European funds underway and we are halfway through the PERTE (Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation). Those of the naval and decarbonization, very important for Asturias, start now.
–In fact, the naval one was approved on December 23, when his appointment was made known.
–Yes, the deadline for submitting applications begins on the 18th of this month and ends on February 28th. I have good expectations, and everything makes me think that the Asturian shipyards, Armón and Gondán, will join different projects.
–Some businessmen say that requesting funds is too complex a process.
–A learning process is taking place in PERTE management and it is inevitable that something needs to be corrected. Indeed, it is a complex process. The European Union wants to help the industry to make a certain transformation, but not in any way. It is not a question of doling out money for almost any type of investment, but of looking for a quite specific change in technology and energy resources. They are demanding aids because the objectives are ambitious, so that much more priority is given, for example, to R&D than traditional investments in the installation of a warehouse or in machinery.
– Do you feel vertigo when managing millions of euros that can be decisive for the survival of many companies?
–The budget of the General Secretariat for Industry and SMEs for 2023, of about 7,200 million euros, is greater than that of all of Asturias, of almost 6,000 million. If, on top of that, the importance of these funds for regions like this one is taken into account, of course I feel a lot of responsibility and respect for my new work. But we must not only see it as a challenge in the negative sense, but also as an opportunity. For the first time in many years there is money to do industrial policy. In fact, there has never been so much money to transform the industry. I insist: the budget of the General Secretariat is three times higher than that of 2018 with the PP.
-Your appointment has been well received by businessmen and trade unions in Asturias, since they believe that an Asturian will take special care of the regional industry. Do they have reasons for that optimism?
They have reasons, because that is inevitable. Obviously, I have an equal commitment to all industries in Spain, but it is true that there is a plus, we could call it devotion, for Asturias. When I come here to the beach one weekend and take a walk, it is very likely that my head will go to some matter in Asturias. It will also influence that I have a better knowledge of what happens here.
–Is the exact amount of public aid for the transformation of Arcelor?
–The Ministry of Industry already has a planned and budgeted amount, which is around 450 million euros. The final money will depend on the so-called “funding gap”, the deficit of the project that must be justified to receive the money. That is the amount that is under discussion and is pending the approval of the European Union.
-And when will that be?
–The problem is that Arcelor did not only present the Asturias project to the European Union, but three others in Belgium, France and Germany. Therefore, it requested a global item of more than 2,000 million euros. The European Commission is concerned that such high aid to a single company could distort competition, so it is looking at it with a magnifying glass. In addition, the joint evaluation does not favor Asturias, because the Asturian project is more advanced and better than others. But Brussels does not have to approve all four projects at the same time; you can do it individually. That is, we have to get ours approved as soon as possible.
But when will that be?
–If I were the European Commissioner for Competition, I could say so, but that is not the case. In Brussels an estimated date is handled: before the end of January. But it does not have to be fulfilled, it has already been postponed more than once. Beyond the dates, I want to insist that I am fully invested in this project. In fact, these days in Asturias I have already had informal meetings with the management of Arcelor.
–Hydrogen from renewable sources appears as a great energy source of the future, and Gijón could be a key node in the national gas network. Can it become the great energy port of Spain?
–The El Musel regasification plant will soon be fully operational. Added to this are EdP’s green hydrogen projects in Aboño and the HyDeal consortium promoted by Arcelor and Fertiberia. Obviously, all these projects are very important for Gijón. Regarding green hydrogen, I like to think that in some way a curious turn is taking place in the industrial history of Asturias. The steel industry developed here because there was coal, not iron. Now we no longer have coal, but we still have a steel industry. And now it could happen that, precisely because we have a steel industry, hydrogen from renewable sources is developed to replace coal. Because it is true that here we do not have enough sun to generate a lot of photovoltaic energy, but we do have consumers, who are the steel companies.
–That is, is green hydrogen the new carbon?
–Thanks to the steel industry, Asturias could acquire a new energy source that, in turn, constitutes a competitive advantage for other industries, not only for the steel industry. The project that is being considered in the region has a sufficient volume to do it on a scale that results in a very competitive price. This is added to the fact that Spain has much greater solar potential than the rest of Europe.
Will the HyDeal consortium have public support?
–I think there are lines with which this project can be financed, but the decision is up to the companies. The support instruments are there if you need them.
–Is Asturias leaving industry behind to become an economy based on services such as tourism?
–Statistics can be misleading and conversion numbers can mask many success stories. It is true that certain industries have closed, but we are not aware of how many have developed. Let’s think of companies that have become leaders in the renewable energy sector, such as TSK, Isastur and Duro Felguera (despite the problems it is going through); in computer science, in chemistry…
–Speaking of Duro, how do you see your immediate future?
I think the company is now stabilized. The future logically passes through the arrival of a partner who is not only an investor, but also brings business and technology. The management of the company has given me good expectations in this regard.
–At what stage are the plans of the car manufacturer Stellantis for its plant in Vigo? What aid will you be able to access?
–There will be a second call for the PERTE of the electric vehicle in the second quarter. It will be necessary to work for the company to join him.
–What about the tender for the old Nissan factory in the Barcelona Free Zone and the proposal for the electromobility “hub”?
–I want to travel to Barcelona soon to meet with the parties and give a boost to this issue.