An employee supervises the production of solar cells at the factory of the Swiss Meyer Burger group, September 26, 2023 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, eastern Germany (AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)
A decade after a wave of bankruptcies which decimated the photovoltaic industry in Germany, the sector is slowly recovering, but remains fragile to face powerful international competition.
In the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen, in the east of the country, the solar module cell factory opened in 2021 by the Swiss company Meyer Burger on the former site of Q-Cells, a former German leader, aims to the symbol of a rebirth.
Every day, a million blue cells are produced in this hangar of nearly 30,000 square meters, to be assembled in a neighboring factory into thousands of modules, which will equip solar panels.
But between overproduction of Chinese solar module factories, the race for subsidies with the United States and high manufacturing costs in Europe, the bet is uncertain.
-“Solar Valley”-
At Meyer-Burger, the entire cell production is automated. Around fifty employees monitor a process on screens which continues without interruption, seven days a week.
A solar cell production line at the factory of the Swiss Meyer Burger group, September 26, 2023 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, eastern Germany (AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)
The silicon wafers used to make the cells are first soaked in a chemical solution, before being coated with a reflective gray coating, then dried and cut in half.
Meyer Burger boasts of developing cells that give “up to 20% more yield” than its competitors, thanks to a production method kept secret.
“Technology is part of our core business, and it is what allows us to rebuild production in Europe,” Gunter Erfurt, the group’s CEO, told AFP.
The site is located in the heart of the symbolic “Solar Valley”, an industrial center dedicated to photovoltaics, in the heart of the former GDR, which experienced great times in the 2000s, when the branch was one of the leaders worldwide.
Many German champions prospered during this period, buoyed by heavy subsidies. This aid was eliminated by Berlin at the beginning of the 2010s, causing a wave of bankruptcies.
Jochen Fritsche, plant director of the Swiss group Meyer Burger, in front of a machine producing solar cells, September 26, 2023 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, eastern Germany (AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)
Thousands of jobs have been lost in the “Solar Valley”, with its large deserted avenues, lined with empty buildings. The market has been conquered by Chinese companies, which control 80% of the world’s photovoltaic industrial processes.
In Bitterfeld-Wolfen, many Meyer Burger employees have heard this story.
“We have managed to recruit many former workers in the sector, and we are benefiting from their know-how,” rejoices Jochen Fritsche, the factory director.
-Cost war-
Germany now wants to reduce its dependence on China to ensure its energy transition, with a goal of producing 80% electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
A solar cell production line at the factory of the Swiss Meyer Burger group, September 26, 2023 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, eastern Germany (AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)
The sector has already regained color. From January to September 2022, production of solar panel modules increased by 44% year-on-year in Germany, after an increase of 75% over the same period in 2021.
The relocation of this industry to the Old Continent, however, remains an uncertain bet, despite the strong demand for solar equipment.
The race for subsidies is raging among manufacturers. In the United States, the Inflation Reduction Act drawn up by the Biden administration grants massive aid to the sector, on the condition of producing locally.
Brussels certainly presented a draft regulation last March, which would make it possible to ease certain authorization and financing rules for green technologies. But the text must still be validated by the States and Parliament.
Solar cells produced at the factory of the Swiss group Meyer Burger, September 26, 2023 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, eastern Germany (AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)
“We have the impression that Europe is always behind (…) In the United States, everything is faster,” laments Mr. Erfurt.
At the start of the year, Meyer-Burger preferred to expand the production capacity of its American factories, rather than that of its German site, for which it is requesting a European subsidy of 200,000 euros.
And EU countries still produce more expensively than their competitors.
“Europe is not competitive enough in energy-intensive technologies, but not particularly sophisticated,” explains Georg Zachmann, expert from the Brussels Think Tank Bruegel.
An employee supervises the production of solar cells at the factory of the Swiss Meyer Burger group, September 26, 2023 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, eastern Germany (AFP/JENS SCHLUETER)
Especially since the sector is facing an overcapacity of supply from China which is causing prices to plunge for the entire sector.
The latest victim, the Norwegian company Norwegian Crystals, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of August, unable to resist Chinese competition.
© 2023 AFP
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