Three billion reasons to look at Portugal differently

There are ads that, when read carefully, say much more about the future of a country than the cold numbers they bring in the title. Investment contracts signed in Sines, for an amount of more than three billion euros, clearly belong to this category. It is not just more projects approved. These are clear signs that Portugal has definitively entered the radar of the great European industrial and energy cycles.
The six projects now contracted represent a total investment of 3.077 billion euros, with public incentives of around 700 million, and will generate more than 2,300 new jobs, many of them highly qualified. But what really matters here is the nature of these investments and the profile of the companies involved. We are talking about electric mobility, health, the chemical and petrochemical industry, agri-food, and strategic mining. That is, sectors where competitiveness, industrial autonomy and geopolitical positioning are decided in the coming decades.
It is no coincidence that two of these bets will be based on Sines. CALB, one of the big global names in the production of batteries for electric mobility, and Topsoe Battery Materials, linked to advanced technologies for critical materials, have chosen Portugal to develop large-scale industrial projects. These companies are not just looking for incentives. They are looking for competitive energy, access to infrastructure, regulatory stability, connection to strategic ports and proximity to European value chains. Sines offers all this and is beginning to assert itself as a true industrial and energy hub on a continental scale.
But the map does not end there. Projects such as those of Savannah Lithium, linked to the valorization of critical mineral resources, or ALB and Everbio, show that Portugal is attracting investment along the entire value chain, from extraction and processing to industry and innovation. United PetFood and Lift One also reinforce the agro-industrial and productive dimension, proving that this investment cycle is not only technological, but transversal to the real economy.
It is also relevant to note that four of these projects result from the Incentive System for Investment in Strategic Sectors. This shows a change in approach: less dispersion, more focus on anchor projects, with scale, impact, and the ability to generate knock-on effects. It is not just about creating jobs, but about creating industrial ecosystems capable of attracting talent, suppliers, engineering, and innovation centers.
AICEP's numbers in 2025 help to frame this moment. In the last year alone, the investment projects monitored by the agency totaled 3.58 billion euros and more than 6,600 new jobs. It is not an isolated peak. It is a trend.
In my view, the world is clearly looking at Portugal differently. No longer as a peripheral market, but as a platform for industrial execution in a European context increasingly pressured by issues such as energy sovereignty, supply chains, and climate transition. Portuguese companies, decision-makers, and investors should take good note of this.
This is the time for ambition. Portugal is being chosen. Now he has to prove that he knows how to lead this new cycle.