A new Horizon Europe project, EuroCZFactory, was launched to help strengthen Europe’s manufacturing capacity in a critical segment of the solar PV value chain. EuroCZFactory partners gathered on 23 and 24 June 2026 for a two-day kick-off meeting in Trondheim, Norway, hosted by SINTEF. The meeting brought together 16 partners from across Europe’s solar PV manufacturing, research and innovation sectors to align on the project’s technical roadmap and first implementation steps.
The project focuses on silicon ingots and wafers: the materials that form the basis of solar cells. While Europe continues to expand solar deployment, it currently has limited production capacity in this part of the value chain.
Building European PV expertise
Over the next 42 months, the consortium will develop the technologies and processes needed to support European Czochralski ingot and wafer production. This includes improving how silicon crystals are grown and processed into wafers, integrating digital tools into manufacturing processes and demonstrating the technology through pilot operations using full-scale equipment. By working on this early stage of solar manufacturing, EuroCZFactory aims to build European expertise and know-how, help reduce the manufacturing gap and contribute to future industrial initiatives in Europe.
During the kick-off meeting, partners presented the project’s main technical work areas, governance structure and coordination framework. Discussions also highlighted the importance of connecting EuroCZFactory with broader European initiatives aimed at strengthening the PV manufacturing ecosystem.
Next Steps
SolarPower Europe will lead the project’s dissemination, exploitation and communication activities and contribute to several strategic tasks across the initiative. In the early phase, SolarPower Europe will coordinate stakeholder engagement with industrial players, investors, policymakers, regional authorities and ESG experts to identify bottlenecks, investment gaps and regulatory hurdles affecting the scale-up of European ingot and wafer manufacturing.
This work will include mapping relevant EU and regional funding opportunities, such as the Innovation Fund, Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) pathways and regional investment channels, to support future manufacturing scale-up. The first months of the project will focus on laying the foundations for implementation, including technical specifications, partner coordination, the project’s visual identity and public communication channels.
