MCPV has raised €4.2 million funds from the Dutch government for its proposed 4 GW PV manufacturing plant
The facility is planned to produce HJT solar cells with production starting from 2026
It has also signed grid capacity and industrial land agreements with local players
The Netherlands’ Ministry of Economic Affairs along with the Province of Groningen and the Regional Development Agency NOM have shelled out €4.2 million to support the development of a 4 GW heterojunction (HJT) solar cell factory of MCPV in the Veendam region.
Along with this capital coming in, MCPV has also signed an agreement with the regional electric grid operator Enexis that gives it sufficient grid capacity for the initial gigafactory and its future expansion.
Additionally, MCPV has signed a land purchase agreement for an industrial site large enough to host the initial MCPV gigafactory along with its future expansion.
The company, the PV manufacturing spin-off of Resilient Group, announced its plans to produce HJT solar cells with 3 GW of annual installed capacity in July 2023. Former Head of Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE Prof. Eicke R. Weber is its co-founder.
Conceived to build GW-scale HJT solar cell and module manufacturing plants in Europe, MCPV says its strategy is based on a mix of GW-scale, next-generation production lines, and digital manufacturing architecture, all made in Europe.
The additional €4.2 million fundraising inches it closer to starting the production of Dutch-made solar cells in 2026 as a low-carbon footprint gigafactory.
“Global solar manufacturing companies are replacing the global oil and gas companies as engines of growth. Therefore, Europe must build its own strong solar manufacturing industry, and I am confident that all the necessary policy measures will be implemented with the required strength and urgency, allowing for European capital to flow to the EU’s solar manufacturing projects, where it is most critically needed,” said MCPV CEO Marc Rechter.
MCPV is part of an industry consortium, SolarNL, which received €412 million from the National Growth Fund last year (see High Efficiency Solar Cell Fab For The Netherlands).
Earlier this year in February 2024, the Dutch government opened a public consultation for a new subsidy scheme to support local manufacturing of solar panels, batteries and electrolyzers to reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers (see Netherlands Proposes Subsidies For Local PV Manufacturing).