Carbon Acquires Photowatt with €40 Million Investment Plan to Boost Operation

French solar module manufacturer Carbon has completed the acquisition of PV maker Photowatt from EDF Renouvelables, a subsidiary of French energy giant EDF.

Photowatt will be integrated into Carbon's industrial project, which includes plans for a 500 MW solar panel assembly unit and a 5 GW photovoltaic cell and 3.5 GW module manufacturing facility by 2026-27.

Carbon said it will also set up the Carbon Lab, a research center to support its manufacturing operations, with a focus on scaling production by 2027.

Carbon has proposed a €40 million investment to create a 500 MW photovoltaic module production unit at Photowatt's Bourgoin-Jallieu site, set for completion by the end of 2025.

Photowatt, founded in 1979 as a Philips spinoff for satellite PV cell research, shifted to industrial production in 1990 but has struggled to compete with Chinese manufacturers, despite its current 200 MW capacity.