Solar manufacturing to shift focus on sustainability is essential, says NexWafe CEO

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Manufacturing sustainability offers significant environmental and economic long-term benefits. Image: NexWafe

A shift of focus within the solar manufacturing industry towards sustainability across the entire supply chain is essential, according to the CEO of German wafer producer NexWafe.

In a guest article published today on PV Tech, Davor Sutija, CEO of Freiburg-based NexWafe, said the reshoring of critical manufacturing steps – especially polysilicon and wafers – “intersects with environmental considerations” and also offers long-term economic benefits.

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

Sutija said the upstream steps in the solar supply chain, patricularly polysilicon production, solar ingots and wafers require higher investment, take longer to be operational and are more energy intensive than a module assembly line.

“Even more disruptive approaches to wafer manufacturing are moving into pilot production in 2025,” wrote Sutija, adding that these approaches eliminate the polysilicon (Siemens) production and Czochralski (CZ) ingot growth, thus reducing the carbon footprint by 60%, compared with conventional processing.

Sutija said reshoring the production of polysilicon to cells using less carbon-intensive methods would reduce the amount of time takes for modules to pay off their “carbon debt” – the amount of time it takes for a module to achieve carbon neutrality. “Panels using polysilicon and wafers manufactured in a facility powered by coal can take triple the run time to become carbon neutral,” he wrote

The importance of upstream sustainability comes at a pivotal moment in the US. Advisory body Clean Energy Associates (CEA) expects to reach an annual module nameplate capacity of 35GW by year’s end, a more than fourfold increase in over two years.

The Solar Energy Manufacturers for America (SEMA) Coalition recently published a report assessing the current US silicon solar manufacturing capacity which has “glaring gaps” in domestic production of modules, wafers and cells. SEMA called for a “strengthening [of] the domestic supply chain to produce solar components”.

To read the full post, visit our Guest Blog section.

Read Next

Premium
February 19, 2025
PV Talk: Alex Zhu, CEO of US-based solar cell manufacturer ES Foundry discusses why a heated litigation landscape led to a choice of PERC cell technology for the South Carolina factory, the fate of US tax credits and taking advantage of wafer surplus in southeast Asia.
February 13, 2025
The announcement comes just days after the Trump administration announced plans for a 25% tariff on steel and aluminium imports.
February 10, 2025
Japanese industrial electric and automation technology company Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (TMEIC) has begun operations at its inverter manufacturing plant in Texas, US.
Premium
February 5, 2025
PV Talk: Origami Solar CEO Gregg Patterson believes a rapid transition from aluminium to steel as the standard material for PV module frames is imminent.
February 4, 2025
The US has surpassed 50GW of annual nameplate capacity for module capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
January 21, 2025
President Trump has signed orders to revoke parts of the IRA, examine trade relations with China and withdraw from the Paris agreement.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
February 19, 2025
Tokyo, Japan
Solar Media Events
March 11, 2025
Frankfurt, Germany
Solar Media Events
March 18, 2025
Sydney, Australia