Key takeaways:
PV PILOT recommends a distributed pilot line model using existing research infrastructure
A capacity of about 300 MW per year is considered the minimum meaningful scale for industrial relevance
The project calls for stronger policy and funding support, alongside flexible technology roadmaps for future upgrades
Under the umbrella of PV PILOT, A consortium of research institutes, industry players, and machine builders was formed to find ways to bring PV manufacturing back to Germany.
Funded by the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE), the project involved numerous stakeholders. Coordination was led by RCT Solutions, and participating institutes included ISC Konstanz, Fraunhofer ISE, HZB, and ISFH, among others. The core objective of this project was to develop approaches for German factories and turnkey solutions to be competitive.
A comprehensive report, published to mark the conclusion of the project, highlights the challenges and the path forward to restart and scale up the German PV manufacturing industry. Among its objectives, the first was to develop implementation scenarios that bolster the resilience and international competitiveness of the German and European PV industry. A key path to achieving this objective is to bridge the gap between lab research and industrial mass production.
As part of this effort, a survey was conducted early on, with over 80 respondents from companies and research institutions, to gather requirements for a pilot PV line. This was followed by a workshop involving about 100 stakeholders.
The consortium developed 4 scenarios of configuring a pilot production line:
A completely new industrial-scale line.
A ‘virtual’ or distributed pilot line using existing institute labs and equipment.
A line docked to a new or upcoming PV factory.
Modest lines using existing production or institutional infrastructure.
Scenario 2 in the above list, the ‘distributed pilot line’, was judged to be the most immediately feasible, with lower CapEx/OpEx. A central reference point in the report was that a pilot line should be scaled at around 300 MW per year. The consortium views this as the minimum meaningful size to validate processes, support industrial transfer, and provide a bridge between research and commercial-scale factories. They assessed various technology paths, mostly focusing on TOPCon and HJT now, but also considering alternatives, such as IBC and Tandem cells, in the future.
Further, the project explored legal, funding, and business model frameworks, including operational models, funding sources (including EU programs like Horizon Europe, InvestEU), risk assurance (e.g., guarantees), and turnkey consortia concepts.
Commenting on the project, Wolfgang Jooß, Project Coordinator at RCT Solutions, says, “PV PILOT has shown that the foundations for rapid industrial implementation are in place – now it's up to the politicians to provide support.”
Several recommendations and forward-looking items emerged with the conclusion of the PV PILOT project. A new initiative, called PV ACTION, would build on the findings of the project with a stronger focus on planning, coordination, and international cooperation. A key element is to further develop the distributed pilot line model, making greater use of existing infrastructure at research institutes, modernizing laboratory lines, and creating stronger networks between them. In parallel, the consortium stresses the importance of refining the technology roadmap, particularly to prepare for upgrading from today’s dominant TOPCon and HJT technologies toward IBC and tandem cells, while ensuring that future installations remain flexible to support new architectures. Finally, the recommendations emphasize the need to strengthen political and regulatory support, including the establishment of effective funding instruments, safeguards against ultra-cheap imports, and stronger incentives for local manufacturing and demand for modules produced within Europe.
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