Carbon aims to start 500 MW pilot production at module factory in France

From pv magazine France

French solar module manufacturer Carbon has revealed it plans to start pilot production at its vertically integrated TOPCon and IBC solar module factory in Fos-sur-Mer, in southern France’s Bouches-du-Rhône department, in fall 2025.

The factory will use a 500 MW pilot production line for TOPCon panels. The company said it will initially produce the modules with cells sourced in Europe or outside Europe.

“The selection of our suppliers will be finalized during 2025 and will allow us to sell TOPCon Premium modules meeting the requirements defined by the French Ministry of the Economy,” Etienne Roche, responsible for strategy, communication, public relations and public affairs at Carbon, told pv magazine France. “These requirements rate photovoltaic modules from A to E based on the number of manufacturing stages carried out in Europe.”

The pilot unit will also be designed to build the factory’s entire ecosystem, including the establishment of long-term partnerships with raw material sources and equipment suppliers, as well as with R&D institutes.

Roche said that the factory will occupy a surface of around 5,000 m2 in Fos-sur-Mer, in southern France’s Bouches-du-Rhône department. It is planned to have an annual ingot and cell production capacity of 5 GW and a module capacity of 3.5 GW.

The planned total investment should amount to around €1.7 billion. Around 50% of the project will be financed by debt, around 25% by national and European subsidies, and finally the remainder by equity.

“The currently very low prices are not sustainable over time, neither for European players, nor even for Chinese Tier 1s,” said Roche, noting that Carbon’s new factory should be able to deliver relatively low prices for its products.