At SOLTECH, we’ve always believed that the future looks bright — and now we’re putting that belief into action. As one of the partners in the newly launched SHINE PV project, we’re proud to be among the “shiny happy people” working to boost Europe’s solar manufacturing capabilities and lead the charge towards a sustainable, energy-independent future.

A European Project with Global Ambition

Launched in January 2025 and funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, SHINE PV brings together 17 leading partners from across Europe — from research institutes to private industry. The goal? To develop and demonstrate next-generation manufacturing technologies for solar cells and modules, making them more efficient, more cost-effective, and more scalable than ever before.

While solar power is already one of the most affordable low-carbon technologies, it currently meets just 4.5% of Europe’s electricity demand. SHINE PV aims to change that by supporting high-throughput, industrial-ready innovations that can help solar play a much larger role in the energy mix.

Innovation Where It Matters

SHINE PV focuses on the most critical — and costly — parts of the production process, including:

• Metallisation: Introducing alternatives to screen printing like parallel dispensing and plating, with the goal of reducing reliance on silver by using copper.

• Post-processing: Improving cell performance through techniques like light soaking and edge re-passivation.

• Interconnection: Implementing advanced Twill and Shingling methods for module assembly, boosting performance and design flexibility.

These innovations are expected to cut production costs by up to 10% for SHJ cells and 8.5% for TOPCon, while also increasing module efficiency by 0.5% (absolute). The technologies will be tested both virtually and through pilot implementations at industrial partner sites, reaching TRL7 — a key milestone towards market readiness.

SOLTECH’s Role

As a long-time innovator in custom solar solutions, SOLTECH brings hands-on manufacturing expertise to the SHINE PV consortium. We’re contributing to the design, testing and validation of these new technologies, ensuring they’re not only technically sound, but also viable for real-world deployment across the European solar industry.

A Brighter, Happier Future

By supporting advanced, scalable solar technologies and building a resilient European supply chain, SHINE PV is setting the stage for a stronger PV industry on our continent — and SOLTECH is proud to be a part of it.

The future of energy may be complex, but with the right people, the right vision, and a little bit of shine, we believe it’s going to be a very bright one.