SolarWorld ‘reboots’ as Frank Asbeck gets approval to buy key assets

August 11, 2017
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
SolarWorld AG founder Frank Asbeck.

SolarWorld AG founder Frank Asbeck has been given approval to buy the major manufacturing and R&D assets of the company.

The new entity, SolarWorld Industries GmbH takes over the production facilities and distribution businesses in Europe, Asia and Africa.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Production is expected to start next week with 500 employees across its sites in Arnstadt, Freiburg and Bonn.

“I am delighted that after tough negotiations, we have succeeded in developing a future for SolarWorld production,” said Asbeck. “With the reboot, solar products are still being developed and produced at the highest level. SolarWorld remains the crystallization point of the European solar industry.”

The company will continue its transition to mono PERC-only cells production.

“We plan to start with a production capacity of 700 MW, which can also be boosted to the previous capacity of more than 1GW. At launch, the company will have 515 employees. Of these, more than 12% are employed in research and more than 5% are trainees,” he said adding that the new company had already signed a 25MW order, without giving further details.

2 December 2025
Málaga, Spain
Understanding PV module supply to the European market in 2026. PV ModuleTech Europe 2025 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of module supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, traceability of supply-chain, factory auditing, module testing and reliability, and company bankability.
10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

November 6, 2025
The French and Italian solar markets have both moved forward in their latest public tender process for solar capacity.
Premium
November 6, 2025
Third-quarter results show a clear split in the fortunes of China’s leading polysilicon and module producers, writes Carrie Xiao.
November 6, 2025
The low volatility displayed in PV module prices in Europe has reached a sustained equilibrium between production and demand in October, according to online solar marketplace sun.store.
November 5, 2025
Voltec Solar has signed a supply deal to use solar cells produced by Toyo Solar in its solar modules produced in France.
November 4, 2025
Average renewable energy PPA deal price fell marginally to €46.37/MWh (US$53.36/MWh) in Europe in the last week of October, per Pexapark.
October 30, 2025
Scatec posted development and construction (D&C) revenues of NOK1,760 million (US$175.1 million) in the third quarter of this year.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
November 12, 2025
10am PST / 1pm EST
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany