The French solar panel manufacturer Systovi announced on Wednesday April 17 the cessation of its activities following its placement in compulsory liquidation by the commercial court, according to a press release. Created in 2008, Systovi, which has eighty-seven employees, has been looking for a buyer since March and has not received a takeover offer. The Systovi company is one of the only ones in the country to manufacture solar panels, with Voltec Solar, in Alsace.
“The company has been facing the sudden acceleration of Chinese dumping since the summer of 2023, and the ongoing regulatory discussions in France and Europe, in which it has participated for years, will not have an effect within a short time. compatible with its challenges,” declared the company, based in Carquefou (Loire-Atlantique), near Nantes.
“This shows the importance of the solar pact that we have just signed,” reacted Daniel Bour, president of the professional union in the solar energy sector Enerplan.
Doubling the deployment of solar energy capacities
The cessation of activity of Systovi comes as France launched at the beginning of April a “battle plan” to double the rate of deployment of solar energy capacities on its territory by 2030 and support the production of solar panels manufactured in Europe, facing the ultra-industrial domination of China.
“Making only modules from Chinese cells has always been a complicated situation, because the cell market is a very volatile market, depending on the needs of the Chinese themselves,” commented Mr. Bour, recalling the “very recent” arrival of Systovi in the sector.
The government is counting on the commissioning of two solar panel factories in the country by 2025 to address the industrialization deficit in the photovoltaic sector, where France is seriously lagging behind.
Achieve 100 GW of solar production in 2035
France added 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of additional solar production capacity in 2023, after an increase of 2.7 GW in 2022, very slow progress in the face of the country’s massive decarbonization needs, for a total of 19. 3 GW. However, in its energy roadmap published at the end of November, the government brought forward the objective of achieving 100 GW of solar production to 2035 (instead of 2050).
The objective is to “produce in France, by 2030, 40% of the photovoltaic panels that we use”, affirmed at the beginning of April the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, after his visit to a photovoltaic park in the south of France.
“We are very sad about this outcome and are now mobilizing all our energy to support as best as possible the women and men who have fought for fifteen years to bring French solar power into existence,” declared Paul Toulouse, Managing Director of Systovi . In 2023, the company achieved a turnover of 21.5 million euros.
The government deplored the failure of the search process for buyers launched by the company, the office of the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, told Agence France-Presse, assuring that the State “is closely monitoring the situation of employees and the future of Systovi’s assets”.