The PV market is booming. But European manufacturers are in crisis mode due to the overwhelmingly favourable competition from China. Companies such as Meyer Burger are threatening to close down module production. They are calling for resilience bonuses, among other incentives.
The solar industry is still waiting for Solar Package I. Several manufacturers have repeatedly called for resilience bonuses, i.e. additional remuneration for domestic components in the construction of solar power plants. Module manufacturer Meyer Burger is now drawing the consequences and announcing the closure of its Freiberg plant at the end of April.
Otovo, a European marketplace for solar systems, and Meyer Burger have recently announced the immediate launch of a new partnership for building a more robust and sustainable energy infrastructure in Europe.
Shipping millions of solar modules from China across the world's oceans makes no sense, neither economically nor environmentally. Emissions that we want to reduce with solar power are shifted to China. They are also produced from transport by sea and by truck.
Meyer Burger plans to focus on profitable PV production in the USA and close its module production in Germany. In the absence of political measures to create fair competitive conditions, the company intends to take action against the current losses.
Outlook 2024: Meyer Burger has built large cell and module factories in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony. Company spokeswoman Annegret Schneider and Sales Manager Sven Stoffers analyse what European manufacturers need and how the market is developing.
Together with Meyer Burger, clean tech start-up LuxChemtech from Freiberg is laying the foundations for solar recycling on an industrial scale.
Meyer Burger further expanded its production capacities in Germany and produced high-performance solar modules totaling 302 megawatts (MW) in the first half of 2023. At the same time, the company complains of a market failure in Europe.
Meyer Burger Technology AG announced recently that the company will open a high-performance solar cell manufacturing facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Meyer Burger Technology AG had submitted a funding application for 200 million euros in the EU-wide selection process of the European Innovation Fund earlier in 2023. The project "HOPE" (High-efficiency Onshore PV module production in Europe) is now eligible for funding.
Meyer Burger’s German subsidiary MBT Systems GmbH announced the launch of approx. EUR 230 million green senior unsecured guaranteed convertible bonds.
Meyer Burger will supply Ingka Investments, the investment company of Ikea's largest retail group, with glass-glass solar modules over four years starting in 2025. The contract has already been signed.
First projects with a new solar roof tile, an EV wallbox with new features, Frameless glass elements in a full range of colours and the coordination of Fischer Profil and K2. Here are our top products of the week:
The module manufacturer Meyer Burger is delivering the first products of the solar roof tile Tile. The German wholesaler Dachdecker-Einkauf Süd (DE Süd) is managing the first pilot projects with the new solar roof tile and implementing them together with its roofing customers.
Meyer Burger wants to further expand its position as a European manufacturer of solar cells and solar modules. The premium brand is already available in many European markets. Production capacity in Germany was more than doubled last year, and further expansion is planned to grow to around 1.4 gigawatts in 2023.
A central theme of the photovoltaic conference in Switzerland is securing the electricity supply - especially in winter. This is because large-scale alpine plants in particular can make an important contribution in the future. Around 950 participants are live in Bern.
The Swiss company Meyer Burger has big plans. The third module line in Freiberg will soon go into operation. Cell production in Thalheim is growing. The expansion of the gigafactories shows that the return of the European solar industry cannot be achieved overnight.
How can solar production along the entire value chain be established in Europe? The speakers at the Solar Conference at Banz Monastery have compiled the prerequisites.
Wafer manufacturer NorSun and Meyer Burger Technology AG enter into a supply agreement for silicon wafers, thus strengthening the independence of European solar supply chains.
Most components within the photovoltaic supply chain are currently manufactured in China. The country has 96 per cent of the global production capacity for silicon wafers. In order to reduce dependencies, representatives of the European solar industry are now demanding action from European policymakers.
The tandem of silicon solar cell and a layer of metal halide semiconductor already achieves high efficiencies in the laboratory. This efficiency is now to be transferred to mass production.
With a production volume of 321.1 MW for 2022, Meyer Burger Technology AG has achieved the guidance of at least 320 MW published in August last year.
In order to produce even more efficient solar cells and modules in the future, Meyer Burger has now brought other partners on board: In a consortium with CSEM from Switzerland, the Helmholtz Centre Berlin, Fraunhofer ISE and the University of Stuttgart, industrial cells with efficiencies of more than 30 per cent are to be produced.
A mobile power station for on the go, A solar roof tile optimised for roofers, a portable charging cable that also works at home and solar fences and semi-transparent glass canopies. Here are our top products of the week:
During the visit of a delegation of representatives of renewable associations and politics at Meyer Burger in Saxony/Germany it became clear how high the potential of a European PV production is for the regional added value, for energy security and climate protection.
