Titeled “Urgent Call for Action to Ensure a Sustainable Future for European PV Manufacturing” this open letter is targeted and will be distributed to European policymakers in order to focus on the further development of photovoltaics in Europe.

Marko Topič, ETIP PV Chairman: "Photovoltaics (PV) is transforming Europe’s and the World’s energy system. It is strategically important for Europe to maintain strong involvement in this technology and contribute to the energy union and sustainable energy independence in Europe."

Following ETIP this can only be achieved with an innovation-driven robust ecosystem of companies and research centers supplying different PV-related products and services. Large-scale manufacturing sites across the whole value chain are needed to ensure a sustainable future of PV in Europe. Cheap finance, accelerated R&D and smart regulation are the main ways to achieve sustainable PV manufacturing in Europe.

The open letter calls solar photovoltaics (PV) a sector of strategic importance for the EU economy, providing energy independence, industrial jobs and economic growth. Since two decades, Europe is leading in technological development, state-of-the-art manufacturing (industry 4.0), sustainability of production and quality as well as efficiency of solar products.

There is hardly any other sector in the EU which received as much public dedication and thrilled more young people, engineers and scientists. Even if the emergence of huge overcapacities outside Europe led to a severe damage to the EU industry the EU value chain from raw materials and equipment to complete PV solar systems successfully remained intact until now. 

Together with the support of a unique R&D ecosystem this is the basis for the EU manufacturing industry to keep its significant technological advantage towards industrial followers outside Europe.

To maintain solar R&D and EU manufacturing and to take further opportunities for Europe, researchers and manufacturers call for urgent action in seven requests.

The European Technology and Innovation Platform Photovoltaics (ETIP PV) is a continuation of the European PV Technology Platform (EU PVTP) and the Solar European Industry Initiative (SEII) in a single platform under the new SET Plan governance. The ETIP PV’s mission is in line with the Energy Union and the SET Plan priorities with focus on “Renewable technologies at the heart of the new energy system” and Europe to become “number 1 in renewables”. ETIP PV gathers all the relevant stakeholders of the PV sector, with arrangements for cooperative discussions with member states (MS), associated countries (AC), and the Commission services. Its main role is to provide consensus-based strategic advice on all issues relevant to progressing research and innovation (R&I) efforts.