Image:Carbon

European solar manufacturing start-up Carbon has scrapped its plan to build a 5GW module assembly plant in France, citing the lack of necessary conditions for EU-made solar PV manufacturing.

The French company launched the vertically integrated solar project four years ago, which aimed to cover the entire value chain from ingots to modules, with a 500MW pilot plant scheduled for 2024. A year after the project’s launch, Carbon had selected a site for cell and module facilities with annual nameplate capacities of 5GW and 3.5GW respectively.

In a LinkedIn letter, Carbon emphasized the insufficient policy support from the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), noting that the NZIA only focuses on diversifying supply chains without prioritizing European production. The situation worsened when the European Commission (EC) introduced the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA) earlier this year, which expands the "Made in EU" requirement to free trade agreement partner countries and delays European production preference until 2030, potentially including solar manufacturing hubs like Turkey, Vietnam and India.

Carbon stated that persistent divergences among EU Member States have led to uncertainty in the European PV manufacturing market, with no clear guarantee of a "truly sovereign market" in the near future. This uncertainty made it impossible for the start-up to secure necessary financing within a feasible timeframe, forcing it to terminate the project.

Carbon’s project abandonment highlights the challenges European new solar manufacturers face in expanding capacity, as the region lags behind major markets like the US and India. The European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) has called on EU legislators to take immediate action to foster a favorable environment for the European solar PV industry.