made in Europe

Rather than pondering the introduction of trade measures against solar imports, Europe should be pragmatic about its short-term reliance on Asian panels while moving now to nurture and incentivize a domestic supply chain of the future.

The current module oversupply market dynamic has coincided with efforts to bolster manufacturing outside of China by national governments and manufacturers alike. pv magazine consultant and contributor Götz Fischbeck was a part of discussions regarding made-in-Europe production, to find that protectionist measures are being called for by some.

Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action says it will fund a study on the feasibility of quickly restoring a full PV supply chain in Europe. Three German companies are leading the study and are calling for participation from other industry stakeholders.

Wood Mackenzie says Europe would need to dramatically raise its PV production capability to ensure the 420 GW-plus of new solar it wants this decade does not arrive in the form of Asian panels.

As Europe’s PV market scales, the security of module supply and other equipment, the sustainability of products and processes, and the equity for citizens and workers grows in importance. Given these dynamics, pv magazine’s Roundtables Europe Sustainability and Made in Europe session explored European PV production, from polysilicon through to cells and modules. The discussion included how a competitive European production industry can be built, with a focus on political, financial, and technological issues. If you missed the session, check out the video, out now.

As a relatively new and rapidly emerging PV technology, perovskites present an opportunity for the European Union to once again play a prominent role in solar manufacturing. So argues Louis Huber from the European Perovskite Initiative, a group that is trying to coordinate European perovskite PV activities across research, industry and politics.