Germany and the wider EU can use its research and development (R&D) strengths to stay competitive in the global solar PV manufacturing industry, according to a group of industry and research bodies.
A group of solar industry and regional bodies led by the PV research centre ISC Konstanz have submitted a position paper to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s (BMWE) calling for crystalline silicon PV manufacturing to remain a major part of the country’s R&D programme. Signatories to the paper include RCT Solutions, FuturaSun and RENA, alongside ISC Konstanz.
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The paper was submitted as part of a consultation on the BMWE’s 8th Energy Research Programme, the mechanism for public funding of energy R&D projects in Germany. The programme has run since 2023 and sets criteria for companies, universities and research institutes seeking funds for energy research.
ISC Konstanz is urging the BMWE to give significant weight to crystalline silicon solar PV research in its funding allocations because of the continued dominance the technology is expected to have in the expanding and increasingly competitive global solar manufacturing landscape.
“The key message is clear: crystalline silicon will remain the technological foundation of the global PV market for at least the next decade – and continued R&D is essential if Germany and Europe want to participate in the enormous growth of the global PV manufacturing market,” said Rudolf Harney, project manager at ISC Konstanz.
The most recent International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV) predicts that around 95% of solar cell production in 2036 will still be based on crystalline silicon technology, and ISC Konstanz data projects that the global PV manufacturing equipment market for those products could top US$250-300 billion over that period.
Global manufacturing, German machines
The paper lays out how crystalline silicon PV paired with energy storage will become the cheapest form of electricity generation in almost all of the world by 2030. In this context, it argues that Germany can become a technology and equipment-providing hub.
“Even though the potential for further efficiency gains and cost reductions at cell and module level is gradually approaching physical and economic limits, c-Si remains the reliable engine of the global energy transition. It is the undisputed lowest-cost form of electricity generation and is favoured by investors due to its excellent risk profile and decades of proven experience,” it states.
The director of ISC Konstanz, Radovan Kopecek, outlined a similar argument in a long-form article for PV Tech Premium last year.
Given this growth and “industrial importance”, ISC Konstanz argues that the technology should “continue to be strengthened” in Germany’s research funding. The country has a strong pedigree in PV R&D, with institutes like Fraunhofer ISE and Helmhotz-Zentrum Berlin, as well as ISC Konstanz, advancing PV technology, and machine producers such as RCT Solutions well regarded in the global industry.
Moreover, solar manufacturing capacity is forecast to expand globally, with greater efforts to onshore production and create new supply lines away from China, which has dominated the sector for years. As well as technical expertise, those new manufacturers and industries may look for new production methods that are lower in emissions, cost or energy use. ISC Konstanz itself has worked with companies in India and the US on developing PV cell production lines in recent months.
At Intersolar Europe this year, Peter Fath, the head of RTC Solutions, said that Europe would not be a “disruptor” to global solar PV technology, but could carve out a meaningful place in refining technologies, advancing silicon cell performance and offering high-precision machinery and processes to global manufacturers.
Future technology
Crystalline silicon PV is already the mainstream solar technology, and global manufacturing capacity is significantly in excess of demand. Many have touted perovskite-silicon tandem as the next step in solar PV evolution, and European institutes and governments could be tempted to push resources towards that instead of the commercialised and Chinese-dominated crystalline industry.
In comments to PV Tech, Harney said: “Our message is not that Germany should reduce research into perovskites, tandem cells or other emerging technologies. Quite the opposite: we support these developments. But we believe funding needs to remain technology-open and balanced, while recognising that c-Si will remain the industrial foundation of PV for many years and is itself the basis for most of the tandem concepts expected to enter the market.”
The paper said: “The energy transition requires both visionary future technologies and the continuous further development of technologies that are already established on an industrial scale.”
It concludes: “Germany continues to have excellent opportunities to play a leading role in the global photovoltaic industry – not through mass production, but through innovation, production technologies and industrial know-how. The German 8th Energy Research Programme makes a decisive contribution to this, and this should remain the case. A balanced funding strategy that combines scientific excellence with industrial value creation and recognises crystalline silicon technologies as the foundation for future developments will strengthen both the competitiveness of the German economy and Europe’s technological sovereignty.”
You can read ISC Konstanz’s position paper here.
