The Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has recently published Order ICT/209/2022, addressing the requirements for granting aid to integral actions of electric and connected vehicles in the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation in the connected electric vehicle sector (PERTE VEC) within the framework of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia, PRTR).

The Ministerial Order determines that in relation to industrial research projects and experimental development of connected electric vehicles, "it will be necessary to provide a qualification report of the project activities issued by an ENAC-accredited certification body, or equivalent body of another European Union Member State", where the project activities' technological nature will be determined based on the provisions of the Order.

Likewise, the regulatory text establishes that, for each primary project, an activity report must be submitted demonstrating its compliance with the "do no significant harm" (DNSH) principle with the established environmental requirements. As further proof of such compliance, "with the request, the contract must be provided with an ENAC-accredited body validation, or equivalent body of another Member State, for carrying out the DNSH principle’s validation report".

 

New ENAC accreditation schemes

Exactly in relation to demonstrating company compliance to "do no significant harm" (DNSH), ENAC has recently developed and published a new accreditation scheme at the request of the General Directorate of Industry and SMEs of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, whose objective is to provide confidence to the Administration in the competence and good work of the inspectors based on the UNE-EN ISO / IEC 17029 and ISO/IEC 14065 standards. Bodies wanting to apply for accreditation based on this scheme can contact Juan Peláez, from ENAC's Certification and Validation Department.

Furthermore, ENAC has recently published a new accreditation scheme aimed at bodies offering the project certification service (understood as any assessment resulting in a judgment on whether a given project meets certain previously defined parameters or if it fits the characteristics of a previously defined "model project") that are associated with different types of grants or subsidies set up by the Administration. If you are interested in applying for accreditation according to this scheme, please contact Luis Manuel Rodríguez, head of ENAC's Inspection and Control Bodies department for further information.