Panel Discussion

Recording of Tuesday, June 23, 2026 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2026 | Language: English | Duration: 44:24 .

European Industry Growth and Innovation in Solar Technology

The Net Zero Industry Act and the Industry Accelerator Act are seen as essential steps toward fostering industrial growth in Europe, although their long-term impacts remain uncertain. European countries are increasingly favoring local manufacturing regulations, which aligns with Holosolis's strategy to focus on residential segments and expand into commercial and industrial markets without heavy reliance on regulation. The push for sustainability has heightened interest in technologies like tandem solar cells, which combine silicon and perovskite layers to enhance efficiency while remaining compatible with existing solar capacities. Holosolis aims to leverage its strong workforce and innovative approach to differentiate in a competitive market. Additionally, funding restrictions on projects using Chinese inverters aim to bolster European manufacturing, though concerns exist regarding increased costs for inverters due to these regulations. The conversation points out the necessity of balancing relationships with China while enforcing regulations that favor European production to strengthen the domestic supply chain. Partners like Trina Solar emphasize the critical importance of innovation and collaboration in navigating the evolving landscape of the renewable energy sector.

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Speaker

David Ward
Chief Executive Officer
Oxford PV
U.K.

Matthias Haag
CSO/CTO
KACO new energy GmbH - A Siemens Company
Germany

Prof. Dr. Peter Fath
CEO
RCT Solutions GmbH
Germany

Laurent Bodin
CCO
HoloSolis
France

Talk of session: Solar Made in the EU: Strategies for Creating a Resilient Domestic Solar Market Based on High Internal Value Creation

Despite strong research capabilities and the presence of leading production equipment suppliers, Europe has been struggling to rebuild competitive wafer-to-module manufacturing, while the USA and India have enabled a local renaissance in solar manufacturing. In Europe, even long-established inverter manufacturers have been losing considerable ground. With the EU's Net Zero Industry Act yet to deliver momentum, attention is turning to the upcoming Industry Accelerator Act. This session examines how policy, investment and value-chain strategies can strengthen domestic manufacturing and increase internal value creation.

Key topics:

Overview of EU and national policy frameworks to support local manufacturing
Status of Europe's solar manufacturing value chain
Investment gaps and competitiveness challenges
Strategies for triggering a sustainable solar manufacturing revival

Further Talks of this session:

Intro

Speaker

Dries Acke
Deputy CEO
SolarPower Europe
Belgium

To Talk

European PV manufacturing: Current landscape and strategic outlook

Speaker

Karl Melkonyan
Principal Analyst
S&P Global

To Talk

The Future of Made-In-Europe (Europe vs India, US)

Speaker

Marius Mordal Bakke
VP, Head of solar and storage research
Rystad Energy AS
Norway

To Talk

How to Create a Full Solar Manufacturing Value Chain in Europe

Speaker

Prof. Dr. Peter Fath
CEO
RCT Solutions GmbH
Germany

To Talk

To Program Overview

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