German-Spanish Solar Initiative
In the last quarter of 2021, after announcing that our annual topic for 2022 would be “Energy 4 Europe”, we were approached by one of our member companies with the idea that the German-Spanish Chamber of Commerce should lead an initiative to support the (re-)building of a Solar Industry at European level, including the entire value chain. Doing so would offer a unique opportunity to contribute to Europe's autonomy and security in the energy transition and minimise unwanted strategic dependencies.
Therefore in January 2022, we launched the German-Spanish Solar Initiative (GSSI). It is supported by a cluster of German-Spanish companies, and it is open to other companies to join here any time.
Paper: Status and Opportunities of Manufacturing Photovoltaic Components in Europe
INTRODUCTION: WHY TO ACT NOW
With its German Spanish Solar Initiative, the German-Spanish Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the European Solar Manufacturing Council’s (ESMC) plead to relaunch a European PV Industry.
To implement the European Solar Strategy, adopted in May 2022, of installing a total of 600 GW of photovoltaics (“PV”) by 20302, Europe must immediately take action to recover the domestic manufacturing it lost 10 years ago. It should not depend on imports from one dominant country as supply might be disrupted and there is full exposure to price risk. Security of energy supply is of utmost importance. Available tools for the EU range from specific regulation (see “Chip Act”) to IPCEIs (see H2, batteries). It is thus logical that the European Solar Strategy is substantiated by the “EU Solar PV Industry Alliance,” which endorses the objective of 20 GW of solar PV manufacturing in Europe by 2025.
Within the EU, there is still sufficient know-how and entrepreneurial power to recover the industry. However, to challenge foreign dominant competition, large scale initiatives are also needed which can best be promoted by the EU.
We thank Agere Energy and Infrastructure Partners for their collaboration elaborating this paper.
Statement
“In the consultation period of the European Commission on a EU solar strategy, which runs until 12 April 2022, the Commission is requesting proposals for the design of this strategy. The German Spanish Solar Initiative led by the German-Spanish Chamber of Commerce and VDMA Photovoltaic Equipment welcomes the announcement of such a strategy. We call on the European Commission to financially underpin a promotion strategy for the development of a European integral PV production. We also aim to involve the political decision-makers of Germany and Spain in the constitution and implementation of the upcoming EU solar strategy. ” …
GSSI Advisory Board
The German-Spanish Solar Initiative is also supported by an Advisory Board formed by
- the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC)
- the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), and
- the Instituto de Energía Solar de la UPM.
For any questions, please contact us at gssi(at)ahk.es.