Chinese solar manufacturer Trinasolar has signed a patent licence agreement with French module manufacturing startup Holosolis to use its TOPCon solar cell technology.
The agreement will allow Holosolis to use Trinasolar’s tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) patent portfolio in Europe and set up a European production line based on the technology.
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The two companies are also in discussions regarding future areas of collaboration, including potential strategic initiatives to strengthen the European solar supply chain.
Holosolis unveiled its plan to build a module assembly plant in France with an annual nameplate capacity of 5GW in 2023. In January of this year, the company secured both the building permit and environmental authorisation for the plant’s construction, which is expected to begin in 2026.
The facility will be located in the northern department of Moselle, which borders Luxembourg and Germany.
According to its CEO, Bertrand Lecacheux, the company has received “strong support” from the market with over 20GW of letters of intent to buy its modules, “enough to secure our first five years of production”.
“In just over a year, we have secured over €200 million (US$232 million) in financing and achieved critical milestones, from permits and land acquisition to grid access and industrial design,” said Lecacheux.
Oliver Schultz-Wittmann, CTO of Holosolis, added: “By obtaining this licence, we ensure that our products are both innovative and aligned with global IP standards, offering reliable, high-performance solar solutions made in Europe.”
Onshoring a domestic solar supply chain in Europe was the main topic of a PV Tech panel (Premium access) held earlier this year at Intersolar Europe, with Lecacheux present as one of the panellists. Among the topics covered were innovation, the US market and European policy, including the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA).
More recently, the European Commission passed legislation that aims to support the region’s clean energy manufacturing industry. Among the measures are the implementation of a quota that would limit the reliance of renewable energy components from a single country, while also adopting a “non-price criteria” in public procurements for domestic products.
Some countries have also established subsidies for the construction of domestic manufacturing capacity. Spain is among these countries and recently launched a new renewables manufacturing subsidy programme with a €480 million subsidy.
This new programme follows a previous one held earlier this year, which awarded €210 million in funding for seven solar PV manufacturing projects.
Moreover, a new player in the market, Solar Organic Centro España unveiled this week plans to build a 10GW solar module and battery storage manufacturing plant in the central Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha. The company would produce both PERC and TOPCon modules. However, it has not given any details regarding the timeline for the project’s construction or a completion date.
