Leading Chinese firm DAS Solar has started construction at a 3GW module manufacturing facility in Mandeure, France, its first in Europe.
The BloombergNEF (BNEF) Tier-1 company first announced the plant last November, and invested around €109 million (US$115 million) into the facility. The plant will be built on the site of an existing industrial facility, and the company will install solar modules on its roof to minimise the carbon footprint of its work.
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DAS Solar also announced that it had signed a “strategic cooperation agreement” with French automotive group Nedey to supply the company with “high-efficiency DAS Solar photovoltaic systems”. The also noted that it aims to build a “made in France” supply chain through the commissioning of manufacturing facilities for other materials and components, including cables and junction boxes.
“The new French facility will further enhance its local service capabilities, support regional employment and training and foster collaborative innovation in the energy sector,” said DAS Solar chairman and CEO Liu Yong.
DAS Solar’s current global cell and module manufacturing capacity sits at 55GW, with its tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells exceeding a conversion efficiency of 27%.
Jump-starting European manufacturing
The news follows DAS Solar’s establishment of a local business centre in Germany to better support its European projects.
Its work on the continent, particularly in component manufacturing, could be a significant development for the European solar manufacturing sector, as the vast majority of European manufacturers are focused on the cell and module sectors. Figures from trade body SolarPower Europe found that three-quarters of European manufacturers focus on these products.
This is not the first instance of Chinese companies investing in the European manufacturing space, with the European Commission investing in new manufacturing plants from Trina Solar and FuturaSun last October.
The support of foreign companies could be integral to the future of European manufacturing, with longstanding European manufactures like Meyer Burger struggling in recent months; this week, the company announced that it plans to shift to “short-time work” at its Thalheim cell facility in Germany.
At this year’s Intersolar Europe event, Solar Media will host a panel discussion on European manufacturing at 3:30pm on Wednesday 7 May in hall A2, booth 159. Speakers include Gaëtan Masson of the Becquerel Institute and Edd Crossland of Oxford PV. Interested attendees can register to attend the panel for free here.
