OPES Solar Mobility picks site for automotive PV panel plant in Germany

OPES Solar Mobility has selected the town of Zwenkau, Germany, to house its next factory for solar panels that can be installed on the surface of commercial vehicles and camper vans.

The company will start setting up a production line this year, right after the building is handed over, according to a statement released on Monday.

The future plant will span more than 12,000 square metres (129,166 sq ft) and will have the capacity to produce enough panels to equip several hundred thousand vehicles per year. The site will make automotive solar panels with a capacity of 95 W to more than 500 W and with a weight of 2.9 kilograms (6.39 lb) per square meter.

The facility, the plans about which were disclosed in August, is expected to become operational by the end of this year.

OPES Solar Mobility specialises in the production of lightweight and flexible solar panels that can be integrated into trucks, motor homes and buses, among others. The company, which has a factory in Changzhou, China, has produced over 10 million panels since 2015.

Based in Schönefeld, Brandenburg, the company is a joint venture between the solar module specialist OPES Solutions and a strategic German investor. Its module technology was developed in collaboration with Fraunhofer Center for Silicon Photovoltaics CSP and Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE.

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