SolarWorld’s management resign as official insolvency starts

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Management Board, including Philipp Koecke, Frank Henn, Colette Rückert-Hennen and Jürgen Stein have resigned their positions at the company. However, SolarWorld AG’s founder and chairman, Dr. Ing. Eh Frank Asbeck was not stated to have resigned his positions at the company. Image: SolarWorld AG

Bankrupt German integrated PV module manufacturer SolarWorld AG has announced the resignation of its Management Board, excluding founder and chairman, Dr. Ing. Eh Frank Asbeck. 

SolarWorld AG said in a statement that the official insolvency proceedings related to only the assets of SolarWorld AG had started as expected on August 1, 2017, while the ongoing search for an investor, continued. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

Not ready to commit yet?
  • 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

The Management Board, including Philipp Koecke, Frank Henn, Colette Rückert-Hennen and Jürgen Stein have resigned their positions at the company. However, SolarWorld AG’s founder and chairman, Dr. Ing. Eh Frank Asbeck was not stated to have resigned his positions at the company. 

Last week, Horst Piepenburg the insolvency administrator noted that a group of investors could takeover of the production sites before the end of July, saving around 450 jobs as a deal had essentially been brokered for the two manufacturing plants.

On entering insolvency proceedings, Piepenburg noted that the “ongoing search for an investor the accompanying investor process, especially concerning the manufacturing sites of SolarWorld Industries Sachsen GmbH and SolarWorld Industries Thüringen GmbH have no substantial impact on the assets, financial and earning situation of SolarWorld AG.”

A deal to save SolarWorld AG’s main manufacturing operations has been claimed in media reports to include the Qatar Foundation, a major investor in SolarWorld AG through Qatar Solar as well as the involvement of Eicke R. Weber, former Fraunhofer ISE Director with other potential investors, believed to be located in Germany.

The group companies entering insolvency proceedings include; SolarWorld Industries GmbH, SolarWorld Industries, Thuringia, SolarWorld Innovations GmbH and SolarWorld Industries Germany GmbH.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again 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 in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
August 28, 2025
US solar companies could potentially pay “tens of billions” of dollars in retroactive duties on products imported from Southeast Asia between June 2022 and June 2024, following a decision from the US Court of International Trade (CIT).
August 27, 2025
Independent power producer RP Global is building a 50MWp solar project in Harbke, Germany.
August 27, 2025
Long-term procurement decisions from the US solar industry could support US solar manufacturing, regardless of changes to federal tax credits, PV Tech has heard.
Premium
August 27, 2025
American Clean Power Association’s MJ Shiao assesses the state of US PV manufacturing in the wake of recent policy developments.
August 26, 2025
US-based solar module manufacturer Bila Solar will include US-made steel module frames in its 550W dual-glass products.
August 21, 2025
JA Solar's CTO, Zi Ouyang, discusses the company's latest module technologies and why the future is tandem.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines