EIB Pitches In With Package For Italian Heterojunction Fab

• 3Sun has raised €560 million in a financing package that includes contribution from the EIB as well 
• Backed by InvestEU, the bank has approved a €47.5 million loan, while committing €118 million of intermediated funding to the other lender UniCredit 
• Banco BPM, BPER Banca and UniCredit are the other lenders that are supported by SACE green guarantee each 

Enel Green Power's (EGP) 3Sun heterojunction solar module factory in Italy has secured €560 million financial package to expand its production capacity from 200 MW to 3 GW by the end of 2024. It is touted to be the biggest solar panel manufacturing facility in Europe on completion.  

Initially European commercial bank UniCredit and Italian export credit agency SACE backed the loan. Later they were joined by Italian banking groups BPER Banca and Banco BPM. Now the European Investment Bank (EIB), supported by InvestEU, has joined the pool of financiers. 

According to 3Sun, the financial structure of the transaction reached is as follows:  

• €47.5 million EIB loan, backed by InvestEU 
• €147.5 million UniCredit loan, 80% guaranteed by a SACE green guarantee, plus €85 million VAT loan. Out of the €147.5 million, the EIB has committed €118 million of intermediated funding to UniCredit, enabling the Italian bank to improve the financing conditions for 3Sun 
• €140 million Banco BPM loan, 80% guaranteed by a SACE green guarantee, and 
• €140 million BPER Banca loan, 80% guaranteed by a SACE green guarantee 

3Sun explained, "The EIB financing also includes intermediated loans to commercial lenders for €118 million, which could be increased to up to €342 million in 2024, bringing the total EIB intervention in support of 3Sun to €389.5 million." 

For the 3 GW factory in Catania, the company had earlier announced €89.5 million funding from Italy's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) after the European Commission green signaled it in July 2023 (see Additional EU Funds For Italian HJT Factory). 

This development follows the news of another leading European HJT solar manufacturer Meyer Burger planning to shut down its module fab in Germany, and focus instead on strengthening the business in the US (see Meyer Burger May Shutter German Module Fab By April 2024). 

EGP is also building a 3 GW HJT factory in Inola, Oklahoma in the US through its affiliate 3Sun USA (see Oklahoma It Is For Enel In US).