SoliTek recently signed an agreement with the Italian investment agency Invitalia to provide support for a new strategic solar energy development and storage project. The signing of this agreement was attended by public figures such as Adolfo Urso, Italian Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy (Economy), Bernardo Mattarella, CEO of Invitalia, Clemente Mastella, Mayor of the Benevento Region of Italy, Dalia Kreivienė, Ambassador of Lithuania to Italy, and Vidmantas Janulevičius, CEO of Global BOD Group.
This initiative represents the EU's first utilisation of an RRF grant to foster the growth of solar energy production capacity and storage. The project goes beyond renewable energy and sets an example of the circular economy in action.
Italy with an ideal location
The planning and preparation for this project spanned nearly a year, ever since the investment agency's plan was presented to the Italian Ministry of Economy. The Lithuanian company promptly engaged with the investment agency Invitalia. Ten months elapsed between the initial application to the signing of the contract, impressive for realising a 50-million-euro endeavour. According to the signed agreement, the Investment Agency will provide Invitalia with a substantial 65 per cent subsidy for the project.
Italy's strategic geographical location renders it highly favourable for SoliTek's products, ensuring that Italy will reap multiple benefits from its partnership with the Lithuanian company.
Three production lines to be operational by 2026
The use of glass-glass modules aligns well with the needs of Italian agriculture, and SoliTek will focus on producing Solid Agro solar modules specifically designed for agricultural purposes in Italy. These new modules will serve a triple function, generating electricity while also providing protection to plants against the intense southern sun, leading to water savings in irrigation, and safeguarding against natural disasters such as hail and storms.
Three new production lines are planned to be built over the next three years: A solar module production line with a capacity of 600 megawatts, a one-gigawatt storage battery plant and a recycling plant that will handle the recycling of 8,000 tonnes of old solar modules and batteries per year.
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The work of production design is currently in progress with the acquisition of an old factory in the free economic zone between Rome and Naples. The solar module production line is expected to be operational by spring of 2024, followed by the completion of the storage battery production line by spring 2025. The recycling line for batteries will be fully operational by one year later. (mfo)
