French PV manufacturing startup Carbon has reached a draft agreement with French energy giant EDF Renewables for the acquisition of fellow French manufacturer Photowatt.
Under the agreement, Photowatt would be integrated into Carbon’s solar PV manufacturing project in France. Last year the company unveiled a plan to build a fully vertically integrated facility, from ingots to modules. Located in Fos-sur-Mer, in the south of France, the plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.
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At the time, the company aims to reach an annual nameplate capacity of 5GW for solar cells and 3.5GW for modules. The plant aims to produce n-type technology solar cells, including tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells and interdigitated back contact (IBC) cells.
Furthermore, the proposed acquisition of Photowatt—which was acquired by EDF Renewables in 2012—includes an investment plan of €40 million (US$44 million) to build a module assembly plant with an annual nameplate capacity of 500MW. The French solar manufacturer aims to start operations at the module assembly plant by the end of 2025. Photowatt’s will expand its workforce at its Bourgoin-Jallieu site by 200 new jobs by 2026, and according to the company, it has an annual nameplate capacity of 200MW of modules.
With this acquisition, Carbon aims to accelerate its commercial presence and meet the growing demand in France for solar panels, especially in the residential segment. Photowatt’s plant would also serve as a pilot facility, for testing, refining and optimising production processes, including automation and digitisation.
On top of the 500MW module assembly plant, Carbon recently announced plans to build a research and development (R&D) and training facility near its vertically integrated plant. The company plans to hire 200 people and invest 3% of its annual turnover into R&D.
On top of the agreement and to support Carbon’s solar PV manufacturing plant, the EDF Group has secured a PV module supply agreement, according to Carbon, however the companies have not disclosed the capacity to be supplied.
“EDF Renewables believes that Carbon’s proposed acquisition of Photowatt would give new momentum to the company, secure its operations and safeguard jobs at the site,” said Bruno Fyot, deputy CEO of EDF Renewables.
Carbon’s increased movements in the European manufacturing space are in contrast with the developments in the past few months from the industry. At the beginning of the year, Swiss-based PV manufacturer Meyer Burger announced the closure of its module assembly plant in Germany, which was followed by the closure of a 300MW solar module assembly plant from German PV manufacturer Solarwatt in April this year.
