AGC Solar joins the European Solar Manufacturing Council

AGC Glass Europe is the European glass branch of AGC, the world leader in flat glass. AGC is producing, processing and distributing flat glass for the building and automotive industries, as well as for solar and high-tech sectors. AGC joined the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) as of the 1^st of January 2021, as the company is committed to play its role in the energy transformation. ESMC has been founded in 2020 by leading European Solar PV stakeholders, in order to push for a Renaissance of the European solar manufacturing industry.

Prof. Dr. Eicke Weber, chair of ESMC, welcomes the AGC decision to join ESMC:

“I was impressed by the AGC production line in Osterweddingen, Germany, and I am happy that AGC joins ESMC to help creating the political environment that is supportive for industrial PV manufacturing in Europe, as well as for research, to maintain Europe’s global technology leadership in this important field.

ESMC promotes the development and investment in solar technology along the entire value chain, i.e. materials, wafers, modules, inverters, solar glass and other electronic components to assist high-level system integration, as well as production of equipment in Europe.

AGC Glass Europe float glass technology provides a sustainable solution for a European solar value chain and enables the domestic manufacturing industry to meet the growing demand for solar energy power capacity.

Photovoltaic (PV) solar power is a fast-growing market and has an enormous potential to reduce CO2 emissions. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) forecasts that PV installed capacity will reach 3 TW by 2030 and 8.5 TW by 2050. In other words, we are still at the very beginning of the global growth curve of solar technology deployment.

Although a majority of PV mass production happens in South East Asia today, the ecological momentum and commitments made in the UN Paris Agreement will spur local PV production in the EU. Already today we see a massive expansion of PV manufacturing capacity in Europe.

To import millions of m² of solar pattern glass from overseas is logistically complex, costly and thus less feasible. Consequently, local solar glass production at a reasonable cost is a key success factor for an EU based PV industry. ESMC therefore is glad that AGC Glass Europe joins the common quest for clean energy production in Europe and to secure a sustainable and profitable European PV manufacturing industry.