Solar shakeout: Schott Solar announces surprise exit from c-Si manufacturing

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Continuing market constraints and unattainable cost bases have conspired to force Schott Solar’s management to withdraw from c-Si PV manufacturing completely. Although the company’s thin-film and CSP activities are unaffected by this news, this exit from the c-Si sector will affect around 870 employees as well as its Mainz and Alzenau plants in Germany, Valasske Mezirici in the Czech Republic and Albuquerque in New Mexico.

As a glass manufacturer, Schott’s remaining in the thin-film and BIPV applications market is one that needs little explanation. The company had also released a management statement last year that claimed that the CSP sector was strong for the company in terms of contracts.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

However, The Albuquerque Journal has suggested that its CSP sector in the US was not as secure as we are being led to believe, with the following comment provided by spokesman Matthew Kraft: “We are … ceasing operations in Albuquerque. It’s primarily the (photovoltaic) line that’s shutting down. The (concentrated solar power) line will ramp down over the course of the summer.”

The company’s main focus has been on manufacturing wafer-based cells and modules and in 2010 it had reached a global production capacity of 450MW per year of both cells and modules. In January this year, Schott announced the closure of its multicrystalline wafer operations in Jena, Germany impacting 290 workers, but stressed that its monocrystalline wafer production in the same location would continue.

Management is said to have investigated several options in an attempt to maintain its crystalline PV production, all of which have compounded the company’s opinion that remaining in this sector is no longer economically feasible.

Over the past two years, Schott has managed to shave up to 50% off its cost base; however, industry analysts have claimed that some competitors’ cost bases – particularly those based in Asia – have seen closer to 60% reductions in costs over the space of one year. Prices of multicrystalline wafers have more than halved in 2011, after declining around 40% in the prior year as significant levels of new capacity in China, Korea and Taiwan were ramped.

Read Next

June 26, 2025
A round-up of news from the US solar sector this week, including Akuo, Meta and RWE.
June 26, 2025
International researchers led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a new cooling technology that improves the power and longevity of solar cells.
June 26, 2025
A group of minority shareholders in Norwegian silicon firm REC Silicon has triggered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the company’s US polysilicon production site.
June 26, 2025
Researchers at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) have claimed a record 26.4% conversion efficiency in a perovskite-organic tandem cell.
Premium
June 26, 2025
Carlos Rodriguez, Oktoviano Gandhi and Sun Huixuan examine the energy yield performance of different FPV system configurations.
June 26, 2025
Solar irradiation in Western Europe has increased by 50% above-average during Spring, according to an analysis by weather data and software provider Solargis.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico