JA is a familiar name across the European PV landscape. How would you describe the current state of the business and Europe's role within it?
Europe remains fundamental to JA. China is still our largest single market by volume, but Europe is a close second. We hold top-three positions across every major European market – number one in some, two or three in others. We were fairly early to enter these markets, and that depth still shows. Europe also pushes us technologically. Demand for high-value products in the residential and C&I segments drives us into new product territory around very high efficiency, safety, ESG initiatives and supply-chain management. It is a frontier market in that sense, and a pragmatic one. Roughly 30 percent of our turnover comes from Europe, and our position tends to be steady quarter on quarter.
The industry spent several years chasing capacity. Has that mindset changed?
Considerably. Two years ago the conversation was all about flexing capacity – 80, 90, 100 gigawatts. In hindsight, the industry over-flexed. Today the direction is almost the opposite: companies are trying to right-size. Our nameplate capacity is around 80 GW, but that figure is no longer how we think. Utilisation is healthy rather than full, and our high-efficiency module lines are running at full demand. The focus now is on finding value in the product and the channel, not chasing every gigawatt of growth.
JA Solar becomes JA in integrated energy rebrand
How large is your European organisation and how is it structured?
We have around 200 people dedicated solely to Europe, supported by a much wider global team of around a thousand people based outside of Europe, primarily in China. Our European Operations Centre covers every function locally. It includes a dedicated logistics team of almost 20 people, as well as finance, legal, ESG, compliance, HR, pre-sales, after-sales, technical, marketing and a large commercial team. Our main offices are in Munich and Madrid, with a substantial presence in London and sales and service staff distributed across Italy, eastern Europe, the Nordics and other regional markets.
The debate around European resilience and supply-chain diversification continues to intensify. Where does JA stand on European manufacturing?
I understand the reasoning behind the EU’s resilience agenda, even if it is not entirely in our short-term commercial interest. The best module manufacturing base for PV today, from both a technology and cost perspective, remains China. That said, we do have a supply chain outside of China: module production in Vietnam, cells in Oman, and wafer capabilities in Vietnam. This has supported our US business for years under evolving compliance requirements. For Europe specifically, each member state will implement its own rules at its own pace, and the current base for large-scale non-Chinese production is still developing. We are actively monitoring policy and would not rule out European manufacturing within the next five or six years. There is nothing to announce today, but the direction of travel is clear.
JA is now positioning itself as an integrated energy provider rather than a module manufacturer. What is your USP in a field where several major players are moving in the same direction?
The value of the PV industry is no longer confined to the module itself; it sits within a broader system. Several of our peers have already made this transition successfully, so it is not a dramatic leap. Our advantage lies in the channel we have built over many years: established partners, open credit lines, contractual frameworks, technical and after-sales infrastructure. In the C&I segment we can build on those relationships directly. On the utility side, our JAGalaxy battery is supported by mature legal processes, commissioning and long-term service processes.
JA Solar targets C&I and grid markets with new storage duo
Add to that JA’s financial strength, relationships with credit markets and insurers, and a technology roadmap that sits at the frontier of cell design and safety certification, and the proposition becomes compelling. Many clients also prefer the efficiency of working with a single counterparty for both modules and storage.
Which storage segments are you focusing on first?
C&I and utility. JAPlanet, our C&I battery system, has been the main focus this year and is now commissioned across every major European market. On the utility side, JAGalaxy is being shipped into European projects, initially with a stronger emphasis on hybrid PV-plus-storage sites rather than standalone BESS. Residential is not our focus at present, though we are evaluating selected markets, potentially in Eastern Europe.
Are you manufacturing your own battery cells?
No. We source cells from leading suppliers and integrate them into our systems. European battery manufacturing is on the roadmap, in line with our approach to PV. The company recognises that the EU’s resilience agenda is not a passing idea, and we will participate to the extent we are able.
You've just launched a European roadshow. What's the thinking behind it?
The centrepiece is the launch of the next phase of our storage portfolio: an upgraded version of our JAPlanet 261 kWh battery and our new hybrid system, JAPlanet Fusion. Both are in production and on their way to Europe. We want to introduce partners directly to the products, offer basic training and demonstrate the seriousness of our storage offering. We will also show our latest PV technology, because JA is now both PV and BESS. The tour starts in Poland on September 2 and continues through Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. It is the first roadshow of this kind for us – deliberately a little different from the usual trade-show circuit.
Interview by Hans-Christoph Neidlein
