Etna valley becomes Energy valley. Enel presented the construction site this morning Gigafactory 3Sun of Catania, the industrial plant which by the end of the year will double its production and by 2024 will become the largest solar panel factory in Europe, with a production capacity of 3GW per year from the current 200 MegaWatt, thanks to an investment of 600 million euros.
The top management of the group and the president were present at the event Michael Chrysostom and the managing director, Francesco Starace, together with the Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin and the director general of the Energy Directorate of the European Commission, Ditte Juul Jørgensen.
With the 3Sun Gigafactory project, the Catania factory will become “larger than the sum of all other factories in Europe – revealed the CEO, Francesco Starace – Maybe in 5 years it won't be anymore because there will be others or it will be expanded”, but in the meantime it will be essential to reduce addiction. “In 2022 Europe imported 41 thousand megawatts, almost all from Asia, 3 gigawatts seem a lot but it is 8% of everything imported. We work for Europe”, said the manager.
The Gigafactory 3Sun in Catania
The Catania factory will increase current production by 15 times, reaching up to 3GW per year. Initially, photovoltaic modules based on silicon "heterojunction" technology will be developed. Subsequently Enel will implement a innovative technology called “Tandem”, which will make it possible to considerably exceed the state of the art of photovoltaic cells in terms of efficiency, reaching over 30% and at the same time improving the reliability of the panels.
The expansion works, which began in April 2022, will be completed by 2024, and will proceed in two phases: 400 Megawatts will be operational from September 2023, while full operational capability will be achieved starting from July 2024. The production of photovoltaic modules in Tandem configuration is, however, expected to start from the end of 2025.
Catania: 600 million investments and hundreds of jobs
On the Sicilian factory, Enel will invest a total of 600 million euros. The project, called "TANGO", iTaliAN Giga factOry, was one of the seven initiatives selected by the EU Commission as part of the first tender of the Innovation Fund dedicated to large projects, winning 118 million euros. In addition, it was submitted to the call for access to funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). These two funds could determine an overall financing of the Project up to a maximum amount of 188 million Euros.
The project also has positive spillovers under the occupational profile. Enel has in fact opened the selections for 550 assumptions of graduates who will go on to cover technical-operational positions within the factory. Furthermore, 2022 graduates were hired in 50 and selections are already underway for a further 100. To date, over 200 people work in the factory. Thanks to its expansion, it will reach around 900 which will become a thousand, considering the indirect jobs.
Starace: "Here is the future of energy, we will replicate the factory in the USA"
“The estimates on the growth of renewables for the coming years clearly state that for Italy and Europe it is strategic to invest to create an internal production chain, combining the needs of energy security and independence with those of the economy, work and the environment", said the managing director of Enel, Francesco Starace, underlining how "With 3Sun we demonstrate in practice that we can produce in Italy, and therefore in Europe, latest generation photovoltaic panels, the most innovative solar panels in the world. And this allows us to make investments and attract investments. It is from initiatives like this that the future of energy grows".
Enel has started negotiations for sell a 50% stake or even beyond the 3Sun factory in Catania. "We have closed an exclusive, we will announce it in a few days" Francesco Starace specified in answer to a question. The electricity group is preparing to replicate the Catania model also abroad, first of all in the USA where it intends to build a plant, using the tax breaks provided for by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This is an investment of over one billion dollars aimed at building a 3 Gigawatt "twin" plant that can produce up to 6 gigawatts per year. “The idea of building a factory similar to the one in Catania in the USA, where Enel has been present for years, is linked to the fact that ours is a global business. Italy is great because its economy serves the world. The important thing is to maintain know-how and innovation capacity in Italy – explained the manager -. The European polysilicon production will also be used to make the panels in the USA. The United States is as dependent on importing panels from Asia as Europe”.
“The novelty of our technology is that it will make it possible to build the most efficient panels ever. Our goal is export this model all over the world. Success and funding (European and market) can be found through quality innovation, such as that of 3Sun Gigafactory”, concluded the manager.
The European Commission “supported us from the start, looking at the innovative contribution” and that “this factory is the example that technological innovation creates jobs“explained the manager.
Minister Pichetto Fratin: "Important project to free Italy from abroad"
The Minister of Environment and Energy Security, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, present in Catania, commented that “the strong political significance of this investment is its function of enfranchisement of our country abroad, and especially from China, also in terms of the production of renewable energy plants. An independence that passes through quality and innovation, through the ability to produce better, more performing, more durable, easier to dispose of and recycle elements. As in many other sectors, Italy won't win because it produces a lot and cheaply, but because produces the best in the world. And the best has the best market”.
“The production of the Gigafactory also meets the commitments of the Government which aims to decisively increase the installation of renewables and bring it to at least 8-10 GW per year, necessary to achieve the decarbonisation targets to which Italy is committed at European and international level - added the Minister - This is cutting-edge research that represents the essential technological engine for a country that has decided to be the energy hub of Europe”.
“We need projects like this more than ever,” said the director general of the European Commission's Energy Directorate, Firms Juul Jørgensen. “Solar is one of the EU strategies to avoid future energy dependencies. But this factory confirms Enel's leadership in renewable energies and Sicily, rich in sunshine and innovation, is a candidate for assuming leadership as a production area for these technologies. Europe has set itself the goal of producing 30 gigawatts of photovoltaic panels per year by 2025”.
