Meyer Burger Eyes US Solar Plant After Shutting Europe Factory

(Bloomberg) — Swiss solar panel maker Meyer Burger Technology AG wants to start operations in the US this year after a flood of cheap products from China forced it to close one of Europe’s largest solar factories.

Unlike the US or India, the European Union so far has not taken trade measures against Asian competition even as a record number of panels were installed in 2023. European manufacturers have seen profits plunge and governments have been slow to prop up the industry despite calls for more homegrown energy infrastructure.

“Solar cell production in the US could start running around the end of the year”, Chief Executive Officer Gunter Erfurt told Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday. “We expect to achieve break even of our US business after full ramp-up of these facilities”, he said, adding that “further forecasts are not yet possible as they depend on us getting the financing”.

The company on Thursday reported losses almost double of analyst expectations, sending shares down as much as 23%. The stock has lost more than 91% of its value over the last 12 months. Earlier this year, it announced plans to shut down its factory in Freiberg, Germany, and shift investments to the US.

Capital Increase

The Swiss solar producer aims to raise fresh capital by rights issue for its US endeavors on Monday. It needs as much as 250 million Swiss francs ($283 million) in total to cover its losses and fund its sites in Goodyear, Arizona, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, the company said.

Its largest shareholder Sentis Capital Cell 3 PC — owned by Russian investor Pyotr Kondrashev — as well as its largest client — New-York-based D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI) — intend to participate in the capital increase.

In the Bloomberg interview, Erfurt explained the negative results with “massive competitive disadvantages in Europe” as well as with “auditing reasons, as we had to make value corrections for assets in Germany”. 

The CEO said he’s “confident” that his company can raise the external capital as planned, as it already has offtake contracts through 2030 in America. “We demonstrated that we are actually able to produce solar cells, which no other company in the US does right now,” he added.

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Alessio Mastrandrea wrote in a note that the commitment of Sentis Capital and DESRI “adds credibility to its previously announced and highly dilutive equity raise”. An analyst at Baader however said that the stock is “suitable for specialty situation investors only.”

As for the German plant, Erfurt said it is already closed and will remain so unless conditions change.

“We can start production there again with short term work, if the political situation changes,” he said. “But we don’t see a bridge being built from the government at the moment.”

Erfurt also pushed back against market rumors that the Freiberg plant could be part of a deal, after German startup 1komma5° said it would consider taking over module production there. 

“The plant is not for sale,” he said. “One option is simply to dismantle and rebuild it in US.”

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