In order to meet the steadily increasing demand for faster growth of its manufacturing capacities, the Board of Directors of Meyer Burger Technology AG has decided to introduce a unified product platform for its solar modules. This allows to build-up manufacturing capacities faster and with less risk in the future. The planned products combine the best of glass-glass and glass-backsheet modules, namely durability, bifaciality, low weight, sustainably high performance, and appealing aesthetics in black, white and transparent variants. Meyer Burger is thus laying the foundation for being able to achieve premium prices for its high-performance modules in the long term.
The new product platform enables the scalability of new manufacturing capacities and accelerates mass production; for example, it eliminates downtime due to product changes and complex procurement logistics processes caused by product diversity. This enables Meyer Burger to tap further potential for reducing manufacturing costs. In addition, a uniform platform allows the company to focus research and development.
The lines for the future Goodyear site in the United States are designed for the new product platform from the outset. Technical upgrades at the Freiberg plant are scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2023. While the progress of the expansion of German production capacity to 1.4 gigawatts is largely satisfactory, ongoing disruptions in global supply chains for some industrial electronics components are causing the ramp-up of the third module line in Freiberg to be postponed until the summer. The combination of supply chain issues and the preparation of production lines for the new platform results in a lower production volume than previously announced. Meyer Burger now aims to produce solar modules with a total output of approximately 800 megawatts in 2023.
Even before the introduction of the new platform, Meyer Burger will increasingly manufacture and make more widely available the current glass-glass product, which is already in high demand in the market today. Black and white glass-backsheet modules will continue to be available until the transition to the new platform is complete in order to serve customer needs also in the transition phase.
The new platform can be combined with future solar cell technologies such as IBC-HJT and HJT-perovskite tandem. It thus secures future development steps on Meyer Burger’s innovation roadmap.
Meyer Burger expects a positive group result on EBITDA level for fiscal year 2023 despite the reduced production volume and the additional expenses for the production line and product portfolio upgrades.
