As of: February 26, 2024, 10:45 a.m
By: Lars-Eric Nievelstein
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The solar industry is reeling from massive dumping prices from China.
Meyer Burger, one of the largest solar manufacturers, is leaving Germany.
Two startups are taking its place.
Berlin – 500 employees could probably lose their jobs as solar giant Meyer Burger withdraws.
The originally Swiss company is currently planning to set foot in the USA and establish itself there.
This shouldn't come as a surprise - companies in the German solar industry had been warning about competitive conditions for months.
As Meyer Burger retires, two new companies are lining up to take its place.
Company name |
Meyer Burger Technology |
|---|---|
Headquarters |
Thun, Switzerland |
Planned closure of the Freiberg factory until |
end of April |
Affected jobs |
Up to 500 |
Meyer Burger about to exit – will Enpal step in?
One of them is the solar company Enpal.
The start-up announced that it wanted to set up its own production in Germany.
Enpal currently makes a large part of its money from renting, installing and selling solar systems, which the company does not yet produce itself.
The Handelsblatt
reported that Enpal is currently
examining production at existing locations in Germany and Europe.
A tractor works a field near a solar farm in El Bonete Bonete, Spain.
The European solar industry is under massive pressure from China.
© IMAGO / Cavan Images
“As the largest solar provider in Germany, we are ready to participate in the development of a diversified European solar industry,” said Mario Kohl, boss and founder of Enpal.
This transformation must be initiated “quickly and in accordance with politics”.
However, there are no details about this yet - so it is not entirely clear by when we can expect to set up our own production.
Enpal competitor 1KOMMA5° is also thinking about production
The plans of 1KOMMA5°, a direct competitor of Enpal, go in a similar direction.
Philipp Schröder, CEO and co-founder of 1KOMMA5°, told
Ippen Media
: “Should Meyer Burger completely give up production in Saxony, we are ready to at least save module production and secure as many jobs at the location as possible.” 1KOMMA5° is following suit is still interested in “strengthening value creation in Europe” and, in addition to the production of polysilicon, also having modules manufactured within the Federal Republic.
1KOMMA5° has had these plans for a long time.
The company announced in a press release last fall that it wanted to set up its own production facility.
At that time it was said that the production facilities in the new federal states should grow.
Up to 1,000 new jobs are expected to be created by 2030.
A press spokesman confirmed to our editorial team that the location could be in Freiberg, Saxony, should Meyer Burger actually stop production.
USA as new donor for Meyer Burger
According to current planning, this should happen at the end of April.
Meyer Burger is currently preparing to close the Freiberg location.
In mid-January, the company warned and urged the federal government to act quickly.
But US President Joe Biden acted instead.
The so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) promises Meyer Burger billions in funding in the USA.
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Cumulatively, the eligible sum amounts to up to 1.4 billion dollars, which can be realized between the start of production in 2024 and the end of 2032. This means that the USA has managed to lure the only manufacturer that produces solar cells industrially in Europe across the Atlantic.
In addition to the Freiberg plant, Meyer Burger also has plants in Thalheim (Saxony-Anhalt) and Hohenstein-Ernstthal (Saxony).
The headquarters are in Thun, Switzerland.
Up to 500 employees could lose their jobs by the end of April.
Solar industry under pressure
Representatives of the solar industry see the federal government as having a duty here.
She would actually have to make a decision about how she could improve the conditions for German solar manufacturers.
More and more solar companies are currently coming under pressure because Germany has developed a strong dependence on Chinese PV systems.
The problem is that China has built up a long-term, high-performance production chain for photovoltaics and is flooding the German market with cheap solar systems.
Around 87 percent of all solar systems imported into Germany come from the “Middle Kingdom”.
Globally, China's share of photovoltaic production is 80 percent.
In the past few weeks, in addition to Meyer Burger, the manufacturers Heckert Solar and Solarwatt have also announced that they want to reduce their production.
There is now disagreement within the solar industry about what measures the government should take.
Sanctions against Chinese products and resilience bonuses for customers as well as resilience tenders are on the table.