This advanced manufacturing centre’s main headquarters will be located on an 11,000 m2 plot in the CTVi at Jundiz business park in Vitoria-Gasteiz. The deadline for submitting bids for the construction of the building has now closed, and the building work is expected to be completed by mid-2025.

The Basque Automotive Manufacturing Center (BAM) aspires to be an automotive centre of refe-rence for Spain and Europe, promoting R&D and piloting specific technological initiatives that are in close contact with the market and pre-production, for application in the electric vehicle manufacturing process. Its research activity focuses on the following:

• The development of advanced know-how in joining (thermal, mechanical, laser and adhesive), logistics and vision technologies (flexible manufacturing 4.0), as well as coatings (sealing and waxes) and quality in electric car manufacturing, while developing the flexible and smart factory concept for complex multi-technology products.

• The analysis and development of digital technologies (AI, digital twins, machine vision, etc.) and their integration with manufacturing technologies in the quest for the vehicle of the future.

• The testing and verification of knowledge at the laboratory scale, obtaining the necessary data to be fed back into the research process and optimise the results obtained.

Among the initial promoters of this public-private collaboration initiative are Mercedes-Benz, Gestamp and MB Sistemas from the Mondragon Group. In the case of Mercedes-Benz, the BAM aims to provide R&D for the new VAN.EA platform for the industrialisation of electric vehicles at its plant in Vitoria, a platform whose implementation will involve an investment of hundreds of millions of euros.