- The factory's production capacity will increase to 3 GW/year from 200 MW with a €600 million investment.
- The EU will contribute nearly €118 million from its Innovation Fund.
- The 3 GW facility is expected to be fully operational by July 2024, starting with 400 MW in September 2023.
- The project will create approximately 1,000 jobs and enhance Europe's PV value chain.
Project Overview
Enel Green Power’s 3Sun factory in Catania, Sicily, will become Europe’s largest producer of high-performance bifacial photovoltaic modules through the TANGO project. The factory's production capacity will increase 15-fold to 3 GW/year from the current 200 MW, with a total investment of around €600 million, including nearly €118 million from the EU’s Innovation Fund.
Timeline and Capacity
The 3 GW production facility is expected to be fully operational by July 2024, starting with the first 400 MW in September 2023. This expansion will make 3Sun Europe’s largest gigawatt-scale factory for high-performance bifacial PV modules.
Economic and Environmental Impact
The project is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs by 2024 and act as a catalyst for reshoring the PV value chain in Europe. The factory will produce bifacial heterojunction (B-HJT) PV cells and develop "Tandem" cell structures to enhance efficiency, potentially exceeding 30% efficiency.
Sustainability and Innovation
The Gigafactory aims to generate up to 5.5 TWh of renewable electricity per year, potentially avoiding up to 25 million tons of CO2 emissions over ten years. It will also reduce the need for up to 1.2 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The factory will follow sustainable and circular best practices, using environmentally-friendly materials and reducing resource consumption.
Research and Development
The factory is engaged in R&D with international research centers, leading companies, and start-ups to develop new recycling processes for end-of-life PV modules. Advanced automation and AI will improve manufacturing processes and minimize waste.
