Spain has approved a €719 million investment in a planned artificial intelligence (AI) gigafactory as part of a wider effort to strengthen technological sovereignty, boost industrial competitiveness and secure a leading role in Europe’s next generation of AI infrastructure.
The funding was authorised by the cabinet on Tuesday and will be channelled through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), which will become a shareholder in the public-private consortium preparing Spain’s bid for a forthcoming European Commission funding call.
The project will form part of the European Union’s InvestAI initiative, under which Brussels plans to support the development of several AI gigafactories across the bloc.
Spain’s proposal is based on a multi-site model involving Móra la Nova in the Catalan province of Tarragona and San Fernando de Henares near Madrid.
Spain’s Digital Transformation Minister Óscar López (main image) described the investment as a strategic commitment to Europe’s technological future.
‘This investment is a commitment by the Spanish government to technological sovereignty, reindustrialisation, and leadership in reliable and sustainable AI. Having European access to advanced computing means that our SMEs and large companies can innovate faster and compete better; that our science sector will have an infrastructure that is currently scarce and very expensive; and that public administrations can develop more advanced and secure public services,’ he said.
The government said the project aims to place Spain at the forefront of European artificial intelligence infrastructure while placing particular emphasis on sustainability.
AI gigafactories are specialised data centres designed to provide the enormous computing power needed to train and operate advanced artificial intelligence systems.
Unlike conventional data centres focused on cloud services and data storage, gigafactories are built to house vast numbers of graphics processing units (GPUs), the high-performance chips required to develop large language models and advanced computer vision systems.
Spanish officials argue that such facilities are becoming increasingly important as computing infrastructure capable of training advanced AI models remains heavily dominated by major US technology companies and China’s own technology ecosystem.
The proposed gigafactory would allow European companies, researchers and public institutions to develop, test and deploy AI systems using infrastructure based within Europe rather than relying entirely on foreign providers.
According to the government, access to this computing capacity would benefit a broad range of users, from start-ups and small businesses to universities, research centres, major corporations and public administrations.
Officials also highlighted the potential economic benefits, saying projects of this scale create highly skilled jobs, strengthen industrial capacity and contribute to long-term regional development.
The project is expected to be delivered through a public-private consortium bringing together government support, industrial expertise, financing and technological capabilities. The final composition of the consortium is still being completed, although private-sector backing is expected from major Spanish companies including Telefónica, ACS and Banco Santander.
Spain already hosts two AI factories linked to the European High Performance Computing (EuroHPC) programme through the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre and the Galician Supercomputing Centre (CESGA). The government believes the new gigafactory would represent the next step in expanding Europe’s AI capabilities and reducing dependence on foreign computing infrastructure.
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🇪🇸 España acelera su apuesta por la IA.
— SETT (@SETT_Spain) June 17, 2026
El Gobierno aprueba una inversión de 719 M€ a través de #SETT para impulsar una Gigafactoría de IA, infraestructura estratégica para reforzar la autonomía tecnológica y la competitividad europea.
👉 https://t.co/Nr4pO5rCaE@mintradigital
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