The future of photovoltaics is happening in France with CARBON!

Major news in the world of renewable energy (RE): France is relaunching its 100% European photovoltaic panel production sector on its territory. Who is involved in this ambitious project? CARBON, a French manufacturer that offers competitive, reliable, sustainable, high-efficiency, and ultra-low-carbon solutions dedicated to the solar sector.

A real challenge for the sustainable transition, but also for the economic and energy sovereignty of France – and by extension Europe – this solar project meets the challenge of decarbonization. Discover without further delay how CARBON will participate in regaining control of France's industrial and energy destiny! Cock-a-doodle-doo! 🇫🇷

Why is the reindustrialization of France crucial?

💡 Did you know?
The deindustrialization movement that took place between the 1970s and the 2010s concerned all developed countries, but it particularly affected France with a fall in the share of industry from 17% to 11% of GDP between 1995 and 2017.

From 1990 to 2010, France experienced a significant loss of 900,000 manufacturing jobs, a drop of 27 %, while this figure declined by 13% in the EU and 6% in Germany.

WHERE IS THE REINDUSTRIALIZATION OF FRANCE?

The reindustrialization of France is not just a challenge, it is first and foremost a necessity! Today, CARBON wants to restore French industry and contribute to restoring national energy sovereignty, while addressing economic and climate challenges.

Indeed, faced with China's near-monopoly, Europe has found itself helpless and lacking significant production capacity in terms of photovoltaic panels to supply its own needs. This is why the gigafactory, assembly plant, and laboratory projects presented by CARBON are essential! They will enable innovation in the solar sector and the relocation of this strategic production, in addition to reducing imports of manufactured goods. Meeting this challenge encompasses both job creation and the objective of energy sovereignty and ecological transition.

For several years, photovoltaic has been the most widely deployed energy source in the world. Representing more than €150 billion in turnover in 2021, it is expected to become the leading energy source on Earth in terms of the quantity of energy produced annually by 2050. CARBON therefore wishes to position itself as a leader in this field in order to promote “made in France” throughout Europe and around the world. Especially since the European market is vast and attractive: 29 GW of new solar capacity was installed in 2021 and it is estimated that 50 to 70 GW/year will be installed by the end of 2025!

Supported by the South region and subsidized by the French government, as well as international players, CARBON aims to produce, by 2030, 20 GW of photovoltaic panels in France, for the European market.

💡 Good to know
As a citizen, you can support this initiative via the CARBON fundraising campaign on Enerfip, your responsible investment platform dedicated to the energy transition!

CARBON is relaunching its photovoltaic panel production sector via 3 flagship projects!

🔎 Practical information on the CARBON project

Project type: solar investment
Locations:
💠 Giga-factory in Fos-sur-Mer;
💠 CARBON ONE, the Aix-Marseille assembly plant;
💠 CARBON LAB, the laboratory located in Istres.
Financial security: simple bonds
Fixed interest rate: 8.5% + 1% (if extended by 1 year)
Investment term: 4 years
Total amount raised by Enerfip: €2,500,000

Invest in solar energy with Enerfip and participate in French and European reindustrialization!

CARBON's ambitions

For his ambitious photovoltaic project, Pierre-Emmanuel Martin, Co-founder and President of CARBON, has brought together an international team of professionals from the sector, keen to accelerate the energy transition in order to meet the climate challenge. To address the challenge of energy sovereignty, he has made preserving the planet, but also the reindustrialization of France, major priorities. He emphasizes that local manufacturing will promote local employment and develop French competitiveness. This strategy embodies a resolutely forward-looking vision: reindustrializing to restore France's energy sovereignty!

Perfectly aligned with the new European Union directives, the CARBON project aims to offer competitive, reliable, sustainable, carbon-free, and high-efficiency products. The energy future, but also the industrial destiny of France, depends on the success of initiatives like this solar gigafactory, located in Fos-sur-mer!

🤔 Note
The success of CARBON not only represents a challenge for the photovoltaic sector, but also symbolizes a marker of French industrial renewal!

In short, CARBON's ambitions can be summed up in 3 points:

1. contribute to the green and sustainable reindustrialization of France and Europe;
2. vertically integrate the entire value chain on an all-in-one site;
3. produce in volume, on the scale of French and European needs and invest massively in R&D.

The product

Pierre-Emmanuel Martin and his colleagues want to develop, manufacture, and market photovoltaic products in France. To compete with China, but above all to vertically integrate the entire value chain on a site that will ensure all the manufacturing stages of a photovoltaic panel, from the source material – polysilicon – to the finished product, ready for use.

The founding idea of ​​this project is to offer high-performance, reliable, and innovative products 100% made in Europe. Wafers, cells, and photovoltaic modules will be manufactured within the gigafactory to meet all demands, whether you are an energy company, developer, ground- and roof-mounted installer, distributor, or individual...

💡 Good to know:
To begin this production of 100% European photovoltaic panels, while promoting the "made in France" aspect, CARBON plans to pre-market its products.

Why? To secure volumes with the main operators and developers.
For what purpose? Control costs, material quality, and guarantee the traceability of supplies.

Initially, CARBON is launching a pilot photovoltaic module assembly unit in Aix-en-Provence, called CARBON One, which will be operational by mid-2026. It will have a production capacity of 500 MW per year, or approximately 1 million solar panels. A true lever for commercial and industrial acceleration, CARBON One will help meet the growing demand for Made in France photovoltaic panels.

Secondly, CARBON aims to reinvent photovoltaic production in France thanks to the Giga-factory in Fos-sur-Mer. Spanning 45 hectares, it brings together all stages of solar panel manufacturing, guaranteeing optimal quality, reduced costs, and a minimized carbon footprint.

Finally, CARBON is also focusing on innovation with CARBON Lab, a research center located in Istres, on a former 16-hectare Areva site. Operational from 2026, its mission is to improve photovoltaic cells and develop new materials to increase the lifespan and performance of panels.

In short, CARBON marks a key step in the European energy transition, placing France at the heart of the continent's solar revolution.

Investing with Enerfip

More than just a crowdfunding platform dedicated to the energy transition, Enerfip has a special history with solar projects. Indeed, the first fundraising round closed on the site was an investment in this sector of activity. Since then, investment projects dedicated to photovoltaics have only multiplied… However, Enerfip has never had to finance a project of the scale of CARBON in terms of social, industrial, and energy impacts.

CARBON is an innovative solution, a vector for economic and sustainable progress. At the heart of France and Europe's reindustrialization strategy, this solution is, for us, essential for asserting our national and European sovereignty in the face of international competition. It also integrates our values ​​in terms of sustainability, advocating issues of circularity, recyclability, and transparency.

Discover CARBON!

CARBON signs the European Solar Charter

With a view to rebuilding the European photovoltaic subsidiary, CARBON signed the European Solar Charter on April 15, 2024 in Brussels, alongside European elected officials and solar sector professionals determined to strengthen the European solar industry. Why?

• On the one hand, to meet European ambitions to increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix to 42.5% by 2030.
• On the other hand, to apply the measures of the Net Zero Industry Regulation (NZIA) and thus produce solar panels on European soil in a fair, sustainable, and responsible manner.

To strengthen Europe's competitiveness in the solar industry, subsidies and financing are granted, such as the FRR (Recovery and Resilience Facility), innovation and modernization funds, Horizon Europe, and the STEP (Strategic Technologies for Europe) platform.

CARBON, signatory of the French Solar Pact

On Friday, April 5, 2024, CARBON signed the French Solar Pact alongside 28 other companies in the photovoltaic sector. Committed to phasing out fossil fuels, France wants to take back control of its industrial destiny and relocate the entire value chain of a photovoltaic panel to European soil.

🎯 French ambitions by 2030

3 to 5 GWon the silicon value chain
5 to 10 GWof ingots & wafers
5 to 10 GW of cells
3 to 5 GW of solar glass
3 GW of inverters

Photovoltaic industrial solidarity pact

Seen as a battle plan, the French Solar Pact highlights the urgency of accelerating the development of renewable energy, and particularly photovoltaics, because "we will never be truly sovereign in terms of energy if we are not sovereign in terms of industry" (Bruno Le Maire – Minister of the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty). Based on two key areas: developing an order book and building a united French and European industrial sector, the French Solar Pact is a key step towards relocating the solar value chain.

How is a solar panel made?

💡 Did you know?
The People's Republic of China is the leading producer and exporter of solar panels. It has gone from 7% of global solar panel production in 2005 to 70% in 2022.

Mainly manufactured in China, solar panels are made of silicon. What is it? It is the second most abundant element on Earth, after Oxygen. It is found in particular as a main component of sand and quartz.

To make a solar panel, here are the steps to follow:

1. reduction, which brings the raw material mixture to a very high temperature (around 3,000 degrees Celsius) before being purified to 99.9999%;
2. after obtaining solar silicon, in the form of crystals, it is cut into ingots;
3. cut into 200 micron thick slices, the ingots become wafers;
4. they are then chemically treated so as not to reflect the sun and to increase the amount of light absorbed;
5. to this is added phosphorus at a very high temperature on the front of the panel;
6. then an electrical circuit is printed on the surface of the wafer to collect and transfer the electric current produced;
7. The final step in manufacturing a photovoltaic panel is to connect the cells, solder them, and encapsulate them between a glass plate and a polymer layer to create the panel.

Discover CARBON!

The revival of the photovoltaic panel production sector, initiated by Pierre-Emmanuel Martin and his associates, represents a major lever for French reindustrialization. By integrating the entire value chain, CARBON aims to produce high-quality, competitive, and low-carbon solar panels. Supported by local and national authorities, it constitutes a strategic initiative for the reindustrialization of France and Europe.

Stimulating the local economy, creating jobs, and legitimizing France as a key player in the renewable energy sector are all assets that promote the energy transition and French economic sovereignty. CARBON thus establishes itself as a strategic pillar of the energy transition and an emblem of French economic sovereignty.

This initiative, a first in France and Europe, is proof that we have the means to achieve our ambitions and our transitions! Let's mobilize to meet the challenges of the moment and compete with the greatest industrial powers while respecting our commitments for a sustainable future. Let us proudly affirm that the future of renewable energies is being built here, in France!