Chinese solar panel factory to create 450 jobs in Doubs

This factory, with a production capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW), represents an investment of 109 million euros for the construction of three panel assembly lines, indicated Shi Si, vice president of DAS Solar.

To this end, the company acquired a former industrial site located in Mandeure, near Montbéliard, on Monday.

The factory is designed to "accommodate 450 to 600 jobs", for which recruitment will begin "next month", the manager specified during a press briefing organized with the Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération (PMA) community.

It will be the first in Europe for DAS Solar, a company founded in 2018 which has created 14 factories in China with a workforce of 8.900 employees and a cumulative capacity of 55 GW, according to Ms Shi Si.

The creation of a factory in Europe is motivated by "the European Union's demand for a share of European manufacturing" in this field, the manager specified. The company chose France after having also prospected "in Germany and Spain", the French government and local authorities having "shown great interest in our project" and having materialized "rapid exchanges", she added.

The Chinese company said it wanted to develop a "complete local photovoltaic sector", which would add to the assembly of panels the production of photovoltaic cells, as well as subcontracting activities by "Chinese and local partners", such as cables and connectors and wafers (silicon slices).

The addition of these projects represents a "total potential of 2.500 jobs as presented to local authorities," a source close to the matter told AFP.

Eight out of ten solar panels worldwide are made in China and the world's top ten solar panel suppliers are Chinese, with exports at a record level of €45 billion last year, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie.

Many Western countries accuse Beijing of deliberate "overcapacity" allowing it to flood the market with equipment at knockdown prices and thus kill off competition.

In retaliation, Washington doubled tariffs on Chinese solar panels to 50%. The European Union is investigating possible excessive subsidies received by Chinese manufacturers in this sector.