Europe’s bid to rebuild a sovereign solar-manufacturing base gained fresh momentum as HoloSolis, the French PV cell and module producer, secured more than €220 million in new public and private funding for its upcoming gigafactory in Sarreguemines-Hambach. The raise marks one of the continent’s largest solar-industrial investments in recent years and positions France at the center of Europe’s reshoring drive.

The new funding brings together long-standing backers such as InnoEnergy, TSE, Groupe IDEC, Armor Group and Heraeus, along with new investors including Calés Technologie and Forming. The capital will support final engineering work, TOPCon technology deployment, recruitment and full supply-chain setup for what is targeted to become Europe’s largest TOPCon solar cell and module facility.

HoloSolis CEO Bertrand Lecacheux said the round validates European appetite for sovereign solar manufacturing, citing more than 20 GW of customer letters of intent already secured. The gigafactory, expected to begin construction in 2026, will eventually reach a production capacity of 5 GW per year, enough to supply solar modules for one million homes annually once fully operational by 2030.

Europe’s solar manufacturing revival forms the backdrop. Across the continent, startups in PV and adjacent clean-energy fields have secured fresh funding in 2025, though at far smaller scales. France’s Solarock raised €7 million to expand its self-consumption franchise model, while Dracula Technologies extended its Series A to €30 million to industrialise ambient-light modules. In Germany, feld.energy and Co-Power raised more than €16 million combined for agrivoltaics and storage-linked PV deployment. Estonia’s Sunly secured €85 million for large Latvian solar parks. Altogether, these rounds total around €108 million, underscoring the far larger capital needs of industrial PV manufacturing compared with deployment-focused startups.

InnoEnergy France CEO Karine Vernier described HoloSolis as a milestone for European solar sovereignty, noting that the more than €200 million secured represents years of coordinated industrial policy finally taking shape.

Founded in 2022, HoloSolis aims to restore Europe’s upstream PV manufacturing capacity, which has eroded significantly over the past decade due to low-cost Asian imports. The company intends to offer a competitive Europe-made alternative in line with the EU’s Net Zero Industry Act, which targets 40 percent of installed PV components in Europe to be produced locally.

Jean-Paul Calès of CALES Technologies framed the investment as part of a broader commitment to France’s industrial energy transition, while Forming AG said it will contribute engineering expertise to improve the performance of next-generation PV systems.

HoloSolis has already secured all permits required for its 2026 construction start date, including land acquisition, a high-voltage grid connection agreement with RTE, its building and environmental authorisations, and a September 2025 technological partnership with global PV leader Trina Solar.

Regional officials have positioned the project as central to the Grand Est region’s industrial strategy. Franck Leroy, President of the region, called the €200 million raise “a decisive step” toward reindustrialisation, noting the project is expected to generate around 2,000 direct jobs.

For Europe’s clean-energy sector, the HoloSolis gigafactory marks more than a large industrial win. It signals the continent’s most determined attempt yet to rebuild a complete solar value chain, reassert manufacturing competitiveness, and reduce strategic dependence on imports as global demand accelerates.