Meyer Burger receives funding to build green solar cell production

The German state of Saxony-Anhalt and the Federal Republic of Germany are pledging up to EUR 15 million in environmental protection aid for the establishment of heterojunction (HJT) solar cell production in Thalheim, the city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Adding to this, the company has been awarded a public investment grant (GRW) in the amount of 7.5 million euros for the construction of a new production facility in Bitterfeld-Wolfen. Meyer Burger Technology received the two positive grant notifications at the end of 2020. The basis for the approval of the environmental protection aid is a specifically drafted expert's opinion from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. The report confirms that Meyer Burger's heterojunction technology (HJT) for solar cell production has significant environmental advantages compared to conventional manufacturing processes. "We are pleased to receive this significant environmental aid. It proves that heterojunction technology is not only more efficient but also more environmentally friendly than conventional solar cell technologies," says CEO Gunter Erfurt, in a press release. A prerequisite for the disbursement of the grants is a confirmation of financing for the planned investments in the production site, which allows for an annual capacity of 1.4 gigawatts (GW). Meyer Burger says it's confident to meet this requirement. The total amount of EUR 22.5 million from the two grants may still be reduced according to the state aid law of the European Union if further public financing support should be claimed. The establishment of the HJT production lines and the sales organisation are meanwhile progressing according to plan. Production will start in the second quarter of 2021 with annually 0.4 GW of solar cells and 0.4 GW of solar modules. The further processing of the solar cells into solar modules takes place in Freiberg (Saxony). The company says that the production capacity of solar cells is to be expanded to 1.4 GW in a next step and as quickly as possible.