Photovoltech on the brink after 'disastrous' 2011 takes toll

The Photovoltech building in Tienen, central Belgium

The global PV price war has become too much for pioneering Belgian cell maker Photovoltech, with management informing trade unions of its intention to initiate redundancies and close its flagship factory.

Photovoltech – which is jointly owned by Total and a subsidiary of GDF Suez – is known to have been looking for a buyer for months, and chairman Johan Nijs is still holding out hope that a “white knight” will emerge.

As of now, however, things look grim for Photovoltech, which lost a reported €110m ($139m) last year. The company sent roughly 275 workers home early on 18 June after informing them that they are at risk of redundancy.

Photovoltech is the only PV manufacturer of note in Belgium – the world’s ninth-largest…

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