Swiss-based solar panel producer Flisom decided on a 12.5 billion Hungarian forints (35 million euros) investment in Kecskemét, Hungary, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced. Flisom will manufacture flexible and lightweight solar panels in the newly established Hungarian production facility.
The state-of-the-art solar panels of Flisom are based on the CIGS (Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide) thin-film technology and are extremely light (98 per cent lighter than other traditional solar panels), highly efficient and ultra-thin. The company offers customised solar-integrated solutions, for cars, UAVs and public transportation carriages. Over the past few years, Flisom has received significant investment from Tata Industries (part of Tata group).
Rahul Budhwar, CEO of the Swiss company, noted that they were looking for an opportunity to expand and establish a larger production capacity, adding that the Hungarian Government’s significant support was a major incentive to make the final decision on the investment.
The Hungarian government will provide 3.5 billion Hungarian forints (9,8 million euros) in non-refundable cash support for Flisom’s investment. Minister Szijjártó pointed out that the new production site would create 140 new jobs in the first round, but the company management plans to triple capacity in three years.
In Hungary’s long term energy strategy, the government has set a goal that by 2030, 90 per cent of the country’s electricity production will be carbon-neutral. The achievement of this target is based on the significant expansion of solar capacity and nuclear energy.
According to the Hungarian Transmission System Operator, the total domestic photovoltaic capacity is around 1.5 gigawatts (GW). The government plans to deploy additional solar capacities that will reach 6,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030 and 12,000 MW by 2040, while the two new units (1,200 MW each) at the Paks power plant would temporarily increase domestic nuclear power generation capacity to 4,400 MW.
