PIZ Joins the New Project RECLAIM-PV

Partners of the RECLAIM-PV consortium gathered in San Sebastián (ES) for the Kick Off Meeting

Reclaiming Industrial Sovereignty on PV

The European Union is accelerating its commitment to domestic clean-tech manufacturing, positioning solar photovoltaics (PV) as a frontline priority technology to secure a resilient, sustainable energy value chain and restore industrial sovereignty.

Under the ambitious framework of the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), the EU has established definitive benchmarks to scale its domestic production capacity:

• By 2030: Meet 40% of the Union's annual clean-tech deployment needs through internal manufacturing.
• By 2040: Reach 15% of total global production capacity.

While these targets outline a bold vision for the future, current data highlights a critical strategic gap in Europe's solar sector. Today, domestic PV module output covers a mere 15% of EU demand and accounts for less than 2% of global production. This severe imbalance leaves the Union heavily reliant on imports, particularly from China.

RECLAIM-PV responds by advancing the industrialisation roadmap of Solarface®, a European IP-protected lightweight composite PV encapsulation technology developed by TECNALIA and BRANKA, now manufactured and commercialised by IZPITEK. Building on previous and ongoing EU-funded projects, the technology leverages composite materials to deliver lightweight, high-performance, and cost-competitive PV modules tailored to both mass-market rooftop/balcony applications (BAPV) and integrated markets (BIPV, VIPV, IIPV, AgriPV), while concurrently progressing towards a more sustainable and circular technology.

The project will significantly improve the product quality and competitiveness of Solarface technology by overcoming key bottlenecks, leveraging the development of flexible interconnection and customised prepreg equipment, optimised manufacturing processes and the use of generative AI to support production optimisation.

As a consequence, RECLAIM-PV will demonstrate an increased capacity in the manufacturing of lightweight PV modules in EU through an increase in the operating factor (ratio between the production and production capacity) of Izpitek and the manufacturing of BIPV and VIPV products by several industrial use cases selected to showcase the adoption and replication potential of Solarface to unleash its true potential in the development of IPV products in various sectors.

The project has started in June 2026 and will end in May 2030. The consortium is formed by TECNALIA Research and Innovation (coordinator), Izpitek, Comec, Branka solutions, SUPSI – Scuola Universitaria Professionale della Svizzera Italiana, Becquerel Institute, Mondragon Assembly, Optimal Computing, Ariño Duglass, PIZ srl, Lightyear, OSNATECH, ETA Florence Renewable Energies.

Grant N°101294550. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or HADEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.