european manufacturing

The European Commission (EC) is formally endorsing a new Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance with the aim of scaling up manufacturing of innovative PV products and components.

The CEOs of companies such as First Solar, BayWa r.e. and Meyer Burger have written to the European Commission (EC) to call for urgent action to support the redevelopment of European PV manufacturing.

Around 35GW of PV manufacturing in Europe is at risk of being mothballed as elevated power prices damage the continent’s efforts to build a solar supply chain, research from Rystad Energy suggests.

A research consortium has devised a production line with a throughput of up to 20,000 wafers per hour, which is double the usual amount.

Europe must build out its own large-scale, vertically integrated solar PV manufacturing base as a means to ensure its clean energy transition.

Heterojunction cell and module producer Meyer Burger has secured European-made silicon wafers through a new supply agreement with Norwegian Crystals.

Module manufacturer REC Solar has been selected by the European Union to receive a grant to support a 2GW heterojunction (HJT) solar manufacturing plant in France.

The European Union’s REPowerEU strategy could be thwarted by higher material and module costs as a “perfect storm” looms over the sector following the pandemic, according to analysts Wood Mackenzie.

The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has launched an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) for PV aimed at mobilising EU member states’ support for breakthrough solar manufacturing technologies and to aid their commercialisation.

SMA Solar CEO Jürgen Reinert tells PV Tech Premium how the solar industry is benefiting from increased access to politicians as he calls for more support for European PV manufacturers.