Meyer Burger opens new plant in Thalheim, Germany

With the first expansion phase of 400 megawatts, Meyer Burger has already created around 350 high-quality jobs at two new locations, a press release states. Meyer Burger's proprietary Heterojunction/SmartWire technology, developed over twelve years, is setting new performance and sustainability benchmarks for solar modules. Meyer Burger builds its supply chains as locally as possible; the most important raw material, polysilicon, comes from Europe. The Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems confirmed earlier this year that solar cell production in Bitterfeld-Wolfen has significant environmental benefits compared to conventional manufacturing. This was rewarded by the German state of Saxony-Anhalt with a commitment for an environmental protection grant of up to EUR 15 million and an investment grant of up to EUR 7.5 million. The production equipment developed at Meyer Burger's Neuchâtel and Thun sites and built-in Hohenstein-Ernstthal (Saxony) is now being put into operation. Production in Thalheim will be ramped up in June. In the highly automated full operation, up to 200,000 solar cells will roll off the production line every day. The Thalheim site currently has a total area of 27,000 square meters. This is sufficient for the targeted rapid expansion to 1.4 gigawatts of solar cell capacity. In addition to production, Meyer Burger will accommodate other company divisions here, including sales and marketing. The solar cells will be processed into solar modules in Freiberg where Meyer Burger will open its solar module plant on May 26, 2021.