Firstly, can you give a bit of background about yourself and your role in SolarEdge in Europe? How important is Europe for SolarEdge, and what share of sales does it currently represent?
Let me give some background first. I spent most of the past 30 years in Silicon Valley, primarily in data storage and, more recently, in AI-scale and hyperscale infrastructure. I worked closely with Shuki Nir, now CEO of SolarEdge, who joined just over two years ago to transform the company. Coming from the high-tech world, we watched AI take off and concluded there would be a serious long-term power generation problem. The five largest hyperscalers alone are said to operate AI infrastructure representing around 100 GW in 2028 in the US alone.
I have been General Manager for Europe for a year. Europe is one of the most challenging markets because it is far more fragmented than the United States. Our priorities are financial stability, regaining market share, launching products such as the Nexis platform, and driving operational excellence through US manufacturing. Historically, our split has been close to half from the US and around 35 percent in Europe, with the rest from other markets around the world. The US is still larger today, but Europe is close behind, growing quickly.
How large is your European team?
Close to 350. When I arrived, we redeployed people from lower-priority areas into our focus markets. We concentrated first on Germany, then Austria, Italy and the Benelux, followed by the UK, France and Poland. We rebalanced resources towards priority markets to accelerate our efforts. So far it is working well.
Do you manufacture in Europe or plan to?
No, and there are no plans to do so at this stage. There is a clear trend, starting with the EU, of recognising cybersecurity risks linked to manufacturers in the four highest-risk countries. In practice, the concern relates mostly to China. I saw this before during my 30 years in semiconductors; it led to the CHIPS Act in the US. For now, our focus is US manufacturing, and we can expand further if needed.
Do you produce your own battery cells?
We use several suppliers for cells. Battery cell production is a separate business, and unless we identify something genuinely differentiated, we source externally. Where the market is heading, at least where we are pushing it, is towards the value derived from how batteries are used. Much of that comes from the ecosystem: platforms increasingly recognised by installers, homeowners and C&I customers as superior in installation, safety and cybersecurity. We provide system visibility no other manufacturer offers.
Is AI capability one of your differentiators?
In my experience, AI at the core of infrastructure benefits from having as many measurement points as possible. The SolarEdge system is, by design, more intelligent than most alternatives, because we optimise and measure power generation at a much finer level. That creates long-term opportunities to improve productivity, boost generation and support better system management at module level.
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AI runs through many layers of what we do, from internal operations to how we engage with distributors and installers. On the product side, we will soon introduce Sera, an AI system for consumption and advisory purposes presented at Intersolar. We showed that using Sera with our systems and batteries can deliver up to €1,000 per year in additional value per system, simply by securing better tariffs and trading prices.
There has been much talk about EU restrictions on Chinese inverters. Is a competitive advantage emerging for you?
Restricting Chinese manufacturers could bring advantages for our business, as a manufacturer outside of China. We can scale production as needed to accommodate higher demand and have already been ramping up our US manufacturing. But the most interesting driver is cybersecurity itself, as governments become more concerned about ensuring that critical infrastructure is not controlled by actors who could compromise it.
In Europe, customers ask what they should do. Our advice is to be prepared, because the EU appears serious about strengthening critical infrastructure security. Personally, I think the rationale is entirely valid. Governments should not want critical infrastructure controlled by companies operating under rules obliging them to follow state instructions. If someone asked me to shut down inverters in Europe, I could simply say no. In a Chinese company, refusing government instructions would be unlawful. That is precisely the Commission's concern.
I have struggled to find hard information on whether EU funding restrictions are actually in place. Where does the process stand?
What has been decided is that the Commission will not use funds under its direct control for projects involving Chinese inverters, and there are specific dates for how projects should be reviewed. The broader process resembles how the 5G ban on Chinese manufacturers began. Initial statements about not using EU funds evolved into a formal proposal to the European Parliament. Member-state implementation is the next step, with a directive to be transposed into national law. We are not there yet, but the situation will evolve.
Is SolarEdge fully compliant with the Cyber Resilience Act and NIS2?
Yes. There are various standards in Europe and we are compliant with all of them. Sometimes you hear the misconception that manufacturing in Europe is required, but it is more nuanced than that.
I wonder whether cybersecurity dominates media discussion more than the installer world. For installers, is it not more important that the system performs and lasts?
It is a new consideration in the equation. Being prepared and having credible alternatives is important. But you are right, ultimately customers want to convert sunlight into energy and match it to their needs. It is a cocktail of factors, and price is another element. Our solutions benefit from US manufacturing and the associated subsidies, but also from product quality. The Nexis product is a good example of improving quality significantly while reducing costs. The power optimiser architecture might represent a higher CAPEX investment upfront, but we have the highest efficiency on the market, and better efficiency equates to faster ROI. We charge the battery directly from the panels rather than converting AC to DC and back again. Our systems are more efficient and robust, and the software layers are simply better.soso
SolarEdge
What about bidirectional charging and fleet solutions?
Charging solutions are fully integrated. When bidirectional charging arrives, we will evolve with the market. How quickly it develops depends on regulation and adoption, given grid-side implications. Technically it is feasible. On fleet management, we acquired Wevo a couple of years ago. It is developing very quickly, with significant demand and better control tools emerging. It is a natural extension of SolarEdge's DNA in monitoring, deployment and cost.
You have emphasised US importance, but policy there is somewhat erratic. Are you still confident about the outlook?
My outlook is positive. What I had to get used to in solar was how much larger a role regulation plays than in other industries. But you can take a long-term view based on the need for more power. By 2029, the energy demand from AI alone will be overwhelming. In a single year, new data centres could account for close to 10 percent of global demand. Hyperscalers will drive energy prices up because they need power and are willing to pay.
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In California, two-hour outages are not unusual simply because there is not enough power. My mother lives in southern Germany and they have cuts about once a week. Solar will be part of the solution, alongside more nuclear in some countries. No single technology can follow the required growth curve alone. We are also working on a solid-state transformer product for hyperscalers operating in 800-volt DC infrastructure, targeting 2027 or 2028. While it is not a solar-related product, it leverages our expertise in DC power.
We remain disciplined and focused on the core of SolarEdge: power optimiser, inverter, battery and EV charger, with software layers to manage them at what I would say is the highest level in the industry, and a renewed focus on helping installers improve their business.
Interview by Hans-Christoph Neidlein
See also our Fronius interview, our upcoming interview with Sungrow and a background article
