Solex: Global Ambitions with High Quality from India

India’s quickly expanding solar manufacturing sector may be grabbing headlines today, but companies like Solex Solar have been part of the industry’s evolution for decades. Founded in 1995 and entering photovoltaic module manufacturing in 2007, Solex was among India’s earliest solar manufacturers, long before the country’s recent manufacturing boom. In this interview with TaiyangNews Managing Director Michael Schmela, Solex Chairman and Managing Director Chetan Shah reflects on the company’s journey from a pioneering module producer with an a capacity of 40 MW in its early days to a vertically integrated manufacturer targeting 10 GW of capacity by 2030. He discusses the importance of quality and traceability, India’s rapid manufacturing expansion, the role of European technology partnerships, and why Solex is already preparing for technologies beyond TOPCon. 

TaiyangNews: The Indian manufacturing sector is actually much older than most people think. It has existed for nearly 40 years. Founded in the late 1990s, Solex is more than 30 years old, while many new companies are flooding the sector, trying to jump on the successful solar bandwagon. To start off, tell us a little bit about the company’s origins, its position in the market, and its future strategy. 

Chetan Shah: The company was established in 1995. Our initial focus was on thermal technology, as photovoltaics were still in their nascent stages. We entered photovoltaics in 2007 by establishing 40 MW of module manufacturing capacity. There were only 3 other solar module manufacturers in India at the time, making Solex only the fourth. So next up is the field. We have been manufacturing PV modules for almost 20 years now.  

So that was quite an exciting journey for us. We have gone through a lot of ups and downs. Initially, there were no takers. And when there were buyers, 95% of the supply came from China, with only 5% from Indian factories. We sustained in that market. There was a post-COVID boom that created an opportunity we capitalized on by establishing a GW-scale facility, which also coincided with a rise in international demand. So the journey has been very exciting and encouraging. 

The cumulative Indian PV module manufacturing in 2019 was 6 GW. After the pandemic, manufacturing meaningfully resumed only in 2023, with capacity increasing from 6 GW to 170 GW by 2025. The same was the case with cells: it increased from hardly 1 GW in 2019 to 28 GW nameplate capacity by 2025. This goes to show the dynamic nature of Indian solar manufacturing and the entrepreneurs and businesspeople who run it. 

Backward integration is another huge opportunity on the horizon, spanning modules, cells, wafers, ingots, and now BESS manufacturing. Solex is completely focused on manufacturing, and we believe we would be one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers to global players. What differentiates Solex is our way of working. We always try to work with those who understand technology and have a strong background in it. We believe in partnering with experts to deliver a product that meets global standards. 

We understand the manufacturing language, all process controls, recipes, traceability, and documentation, and we strive to deliver in line with those standards. Our approach at Solex is to prove ourselves as a truly global facility where any customer can walk in and feel at home. We have had audits conducted by most international audit firms, and we have received at least an A, if not an A+, from each. We have 2,000 people working at our factories, and 70% of them are tribals, aged 22-23. So what we are trying to prove is that India is possible with whatever resources are available, and that we can meet the highest global standards. 

TaiyangNews: When you started with 40 MW of capacity, the times were completely different; you were catering to the off-grid segment. And then the government articulated a vision and executed on it, helping the industry grow. This is something that Europe has failed at so far, and the US started off well, but things have been downhill since. So, looking back, what are the key learnings since you started manufacturing to date? 

Chetan Shah: I think one major factor is our approach to scale and quality. You have to be consistent in the business. And then you have to deliver a global standard product. To provide 25-30-year warranties, a company needs a strong background, robust processes, and effective quality control. This aspect was missing among Indian manufacturers. When we saw a big opportunity coming up during the pandemic, we felt we needed to focus more on quality, traceability, documentation, and scale. So it’s not only about scale, but also about robust quality control and documentation – everything that was missing before. Even today, some of the large capacity facilities lag in these areas. 

At Solex, our approach has been very clear: we don’t want to become just a supplier to Indian projects, but also to European projects, where demand for quality, traceability, and documentation is very high. The same goes for American customers and Chinese clients. Solex is producing modules for leading Chinese brands. So that speaks to our background in handling and calibrating equipment, following the recipe, and maintaining very tight quality control. I think this approach will sustain and establish a company as a truly dependable global supplier in the market for a very long time. 

So, simply put, treat a factory for what it is, not as a brand. At Solex, we differentiate between the two. As a factory, it has to operate 24×7, 365 days a year. It has to control waste, efficiency, quality parameters, and customer requirements, regardless of what it manufactures. That is the approach that was missing in India, and Solex has brought this, and I’m glad that other companies are also following suit. 

TaiyangNews: Most new players purchase turnkey equipment from Chinese suppliers along with the recipe, and they set up a full production line. How do you see yourself as different from them? 

Chetan Shah: For an established player like Solex, we are into hardcore manufacturing, and we have built the necessary systems for it. Quality remains at the center of our focus, and we have a robust, fully functional reliability lab in-house to test our products. While other companies also have labs, their testing is more selective. Our lab is built with both European and Chinese components. We recently adopted high-end European equipment in our lab to test both the raw materials and the panels for reliability. This is where we’re primarily making our investments, and that is what differentiates us. 

The new players are starting with small capacities, and they have to go through the learning curve associated with contract manufacturing for other brands. Such companies usually opt for turnkey lines sourced from China, but they face high rejection rates due to insufficient documentation, among other issues. This makes their investments economically unviable. Such small factories face consolidation, with their capacities getting merged with larger companies. 

To succeed, new players need to invest in quality systems and traceability, which is key. This also creates a great opportunity for European companies in India. While there are no production lines available from Europe, it has a great opportunity to capitalize on in testing equipment. 

TaiyangNews: When I visited several plants in India, I didn’t see any European equipment. 

Chetan Shah: It is just the beginning of a journey. People tend to compare Chinese equipment costs to European equipment, the CapEx. Costs play an important role in equipment choices, and product prices are driven by the market, irrespective of the equipment used to manufacture them. So manufacturers tend to pursue every avenue they can to keep costs down. 

In terms of manufacturing, Europe was quite ahead of its time, quite good at manufacturing equipment. It could be the machines. Europe lost its edge as China captured the market. India is a great opportunity for Europe to come back. European collaboration with Indian companies will bring the European regime in the long term, whether it be equipment or technology. Europe has both the technology and the know-how. 

TaiyangNews: One opportunity from Solex has been your collaboration with ISC Konstanz and also with RCT. Tell us a little bit about your approach in terms of technology, because as far as I understand, Solex is the only company that is already looking beyond TOPCon. 

Chetan Shah: We have been in the business for 31 years and have been manufacturing modules for 20 years, and we know we are going to be in the business for a long time. We did what we needed to do for the short term. In the long term, we think getting Europe on board is important. Europe has the R&D, the know-how that India doesn’t. In the past, Europe has extended R&D and know-how to the Chinese, and one can see how China has grown from there. I think it’s time for Europe and India to come together in R&D, higher-efficiency technology, and higher-efficiency products. I think Europe has the best knowledge. So if China can learn from Europe and build this ecosystem, why not India? 

This is Solex’s approach. We have collaborated with ISC Konstanz to develop solar cell technology. Most solar cells are developed and tested in non-Indian environments and in labs, not in the field. The environment in India is distinct, and given its size and demand, we should develop something better suited to Indian climatic conditions. This is the background behind Solex collaborating with European companies and R&D institutes. While Europe isn’t manufacturing equipment right now, we are hopeful that, with their knowledge, they will try to manufacture equipment in India and help reduce CapEx. 

Currently, our operations are dominated by China, but we want to grow with European technology and European organizations in the long term. 

TaiyangNews: You currently produce TOPCon modules. What can you tell us about your plans for back-contact (BC) technology? 

Chetan Shah: BC technology is still some way away in India. Larger projects prefer higher bifaciality, which makes TOPCon their first choice, since BC’s bifaciality is lower than TOPCon’s. BC is preferred for applications like rooftop solar that don’t require bifaciality. But the future is bright for BC technology. 

The industry will gradually migrate from TOPCon to BC. The migration might take a little longer in India than it does outside. Our focus is currently on TOPCon for both cells and modules, but we are keeping our options open for BC technology in Phase II of the cell line, and we’re working with ISC Konstanz on it. We’re also looking at future technologies like perovskite and tandem. 

India can be very conservative in upgrading or adopting new technologies. It holds on to technologies a little longer, which gives confidence to both investors and bankers. 

So our approach has always been forward-looking. We are the first company in India to launch a G12R product in October 2024. Nearly 85% of our production last year was G12R. We are working on a couple of products specifically designed for floating solar, which we hope to introduce soon. So we work on such technologies rather than producing traditional modules. 

We are also working on getting into TOPCon 3.0, which is EPD. A few Chinese companies have already begun working on this technology and are continuing to improve it. Solex’s approach here is to invest a little more in CapEx for the latest technology. 

TaiyangNews: Just talk a bit about your vertical integration roadmap in a nutshell. 

Chetan Shah: As per our announcement, we aim to achieve 10 GW of solar module production capacity by 2030, and we are currently at 4 GW. We have the same 10 GW target for cells: 5 GW split into 2 GW for TOPCon and 3 GW for TOPCon+, and we are evaluating the technology for the remaining 5 GW. We have announced 2 GW of capacity for ingots and wafers, and we might increase it later, but we will initiate this by 2028. We also target 10 GW of BESS battery pack manufacturing and container assembly. This is our roadmap for the next 4 years, through 2030, with an investment of $1.5 billion. 

TaiyangNews: So, what are your plans for component manufacturing, like junction boxes and module frames, and encapsulation? 

Chetan Shah: There are many companies entering into the manufacturing of junction boxes and frames. But we would like to focus on our core expertise and tap our strengths in the sector that matters the most to us. 

TaiyangNews: And there is also a tendency for companies to do EPC and development, and some even consider becoming IPPs. This is also a way of becoming your own client and making sure that, in times of supply shortages elsewhere, you create it internally. What’s your strategy there? 

Chetan Shah: Some companies make the mistake of trying to control the entire value chain, from manufacturing to project development. We don’t want to compete with our customers. Our customers are IPPs and EPCs that buy our modules, so we don’t want to compete with them by entering these verticals. We do have an EPC business that accounts for about 10% of our revenue. These are mainly from within the group, friends, and families. But we don’t want to sit at the table with our customers as our competitors. Our approach is very clear: we want to grow in manufacturing. We want to capitalize on our manufacturing expertise and capabilities. We would like to maintain this focus rather than getting into other things, because the mindset in manufacturing is much different from that in projects. 

TaiyangNews: So, back to your roadmap, where do you see Solex in 2030, just in a nutshell? 

Chetan Shah: Solex is not in a race for the number 1 spot, and we don’t have the intention of doing so in the future. We want to work in an environment that supports technology, partnerships, and knowledge exchange. We are in a technology business that is constantly changing. There is something new to learn every day in this business, and we would like to continue learning and remain one of the most dependable manufacturers and suppliers in the world, rather than becoming number 1. 

TaiyangNews: Thank you for the interview.