Despite booming demand for photovoltaics, the continent still depends on Asian manufacturers for most of its supply. For HoloSolis, a French company founded to bring solar manufacturing back to European soil, that imbalance is an opportunity to rebuild industrial sovereignty from the ground up.
The company has secured more than €220 million in public and private financing to construct one of Europe’s largest solar gigafactories in Sarreguemines‑Hambach in France’s Grand Est region.
Supported by both regional and national initiatives, the investment will help finalise the factory’s design, deploy TOPCon cell technology, and establish a competitive European supply chain. The site is expected to create around 2,000 direct jobs and, once fully operational in 2030, deliver up to 5 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity each year, enough to power one million European homes.
Building a sovereign solar industry
HoloSolis was launched in 2022 by EIT InnoEnergy, IDEC Group, and TSE, to anchor solar manufacturing back in Europe and shrink the carbon footprint of PV production.
The founders’ rationale was as strategic as it was environmental. By reshoring production and relying on domestic supply chains, HoloSolis aims to help meet the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act target of manufacturing at least 40 per cent of Europe’s installed solar capacity within the continent.
At the centre of HoloSolis’s factory will be advanced TOPCon cell technology, short for Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact. This new generation of high‑efficiency solar cells offers better conversion rates and longevity than today’s standard PERC models, while keeping production-related carbon emissions lower.
That focus on performance and sustainability gives HoloSolis a unique position against large global competitors such as LONGi, JinkoSolar, and JA Solar. Its modules are designed and produced entirely in Europe, cutting transport emissions and insulating the supply chain from geopolitical shocks.
The company has also partnered with China’s Trina Solar, one of the world’s top PV manufacturers, under a 2025 agreement that opens access to advanced R&D and global experience while maintaining European design and oversight.
What’s next?
Looking beyond production, HoloSolis plans to expand into a broader photovoltaic ecosystem, developing circular manufacturing systems, scaling recycling solutions, and embedding low‑carbon processes into every stage of module design.
Karine Vernier, CEO of InnoEnergy France, says, “HoloSolis embodies the ambition we have had since day one: a strong and sovereign European solar industry. Seeing this project reach a decisive milestone with more than €200 million secured is a source of immense pride for InnoEnergy, a long-standing investor committed to the energy transition.”