Holosolis, a French startup founded by EIT InnoEnergy, has announced plans for a PV module gigafactory to be built in Moselle, France.

Touted to be Europe’s largest, at full capacity the plant will have a production capacity of 5GW per year, producing 10 million photovoltaic modules annually.

Holosolis selected France as the location of the gigafactory due to the available workforce, quality of infrastructure and the availability of low-carbon energy. The 50-hectare site offers expansion space as new technologies and manufacturing capacities are integrated.

The factory will start production in 2025 and will employ 1,700 people, according to Holosolis.

The aim of the project is to enhance Europe’s manufacturing and energy security. Holosolis emphasised that with China currently responsible for 80% of the world’s installed solar photovoltaic modules – compared to 3% for the European Union – supply sovereignty is essential.

Jan Jacob Boom-Wichers, CEO at Holosolis commented in a statement: “We will manufacture the most energy efficient modules, incorporating the latest photovoltaic technologies, with the lowest carbon footprint and highest social standards.

“Scale effects and line automation will allow for a competitive cost to rival the global giants in the industry. Our modules will be aimed at three main markets: residential roofing, industrial and commercial roofing, and agrivoltaics.”

Holosolis was created by EIT InnoEnergy and further supported by the IDEC Group, a major player in the French real estate industry and French solar power producer TSE.

Deigo Pava, CEO of EIT InnoEnergy said of the announcement: “EIT InnoEnergy is proud to support a new player like Holosolis, which will undoubtedly be the first industrial reference of the European Solar Industrial Alliance that we are leading.

“With its 5GW of production, Holosolis will contribute to more than 15% of the ESIA’s objective: annual capacity of 30GW by 2025, corresponding to 60 billion euros of new annual GDP in Europe…”