![After announcing plans to produce solar panels in Romania, AE Solar has now joined hands with IKAR and WCT groups to invest in solar cell manufacturing in Europe. (Illustrative Photo; Photo Credit: Yuangeng Zhang/Shutterstock.com)](http://media.assettype.com/taiyangnews%2Fimport%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2023%2F10%2FPresentation1-Autosaved-2.png?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
German solar PV module manufacturer AE Solar has secured partnerships with British entrepreneurial group IKAR Holdings and international investment group WCT Group to build 'several' factories across Europe for high-quality, efficient solar cells.
They also plan to build solar farms in Europe, the Middle East and South America, through a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
According to an official statement from the trio, the plan is to install 1 GW capacity in the 1st year of operations and increase it to up to 5 GW in the coming years.
However, the specific targets and locations for solar cell manufacturing as well as solar farms are not clear in the official statement from IKAR. TaiyangNews reached out to AE Solar for further details, but the company is yet to respond as of the time of publishing this story.
"The cooperation between AE Solar, IKAR Holdings and our group will set up new standards in the energy world. Our future mutual portfolio will range from solar panel manufacturing, to EPC, Trading and Investments into solar parks on a global scale," said WCT Group's Vice President Björn Söderberg.
AE Solar currently operates its solar panel factories in China, Türkiye and Georgia. At the end of 2019, it had established 1.5 GW/year solar modules manufacturing capacity. In May 2023, the company announced plans to establish a module fab in Romania with 2 GW initial capacity, to be expanded to 10 GW in the future (see 10 GW Solar Panel Manufacturing Facility In Romania).