French solar developer HoloSolis has entered into a patent license agreement with Trina Solar to utilize the Chinese group’s advanced n-type TOPCon product portfolio for its planned 5 GW solar cell and module factory in France. While this marks a milestone for Europe’s solar industry, the bigger story may be what comes next.
HoloSolis has made it clear that its ambitions extend beyond TOPCon: the company is actively exploring perovskite tandem cells, aiming to position itself in the race for the industry’s next performance leap. Fraunhofer ISE is supporting the company with its technology roadmap, including strategic decisions on integrating tandem perovskite architectures into future production lines.
This aligns with a broader European trend. Armor Group, a 20% shareholder in HoloSolis, has shifted its R&D focus from organic photovoltaics to perovskite-on-silicon tandem cells. Other ecosystem players, such as Heraeus, have also made investments, underscoring the recognition of perovskite’s pivotal role in industrial roadmaps.
Meanwhile, Trina Solar itself is deepening its ties to the perovskite transition: earlier this year, the company announced an exclusive licensing agreement with Oxford PV, which holds key patents for perovskite tandem technology, to scale up perovskite production in China.
Thus, while the current licensing agreement centers on TOPCon, tomorrow’s competitive edge in Europe will likely come from how quickly and effectively players like HoloSolis can pivot their gigafactories toward producing perovskite tandem modules—combining ultra-high efficiency with the resilience of European manufacturing.
