The letter from the EIB to the European Council voices the EIB’s concern that over 90% of global solar inverter market share is dominated by Chinese suppliers, “raising cybersecurity as well as strategic dependence concerns”.
It calls on the EU to allocate dedicated funds from its budget to supporting the bloc’s inverter manufacturers, possibly through support as an IPCEI, as well as removing investment barriers between EU states. IPCEIs are projects designated as making a “significant contribution” to EU growth, jobs or the green or digital transition. It enables EU-wide collaboration on finances, research and industry.
The EIB said that “geopolitical tensions” and “technological disruption” were among the motivating factors to “accelerate progress..to strengthen the internal market” for critical EU industries.
Concerns over cybersecurity in solar inverters have been in focus recently, with the introduction of Brussels’ revised Cybersecurity Act (CSA), which will target “high-risk” suppliers in the EU’s supply chains for digital products. The proposal for revision explicitly mentioned “kill switches” in electricity grids, a reference to concerns that inverters could be remotely shut down to cause energy shortages or blackouts.
Last week, PV Tech Premium heard that the new cybersecurity act was backed by a “growing sense of threat” among lawmakers and a recognition of solar PV’s critical role in Europe’s energy infrastructure.
It is currently unclear what form the EIB’s financing will take, and whether it will be awarded IPCEI support from the EU. In a post on LinkedIn, SolarPower Europe deputy CEO Dries Acke said “The devil will be in the details. For the moment we’re grateful to the EIB for hearing our call, and we stand ready to contribute to the development of these new support instruments for inverters.”
SolarPower Europe called for direct support for European inverter producers back in November 2024, when it said Brussels must “act now” to avoid losing the “critical” inverter industry.
Whatever form it takes, the news will be welcome among Europe’s solar inverter producers. The European inverter industry has taken a hit over the last 18 months, as a result of increasing competition from Chinese competitors, lowered selling prices and a decline in Europe’s rooftop solar sector after the effects of the 2022-23 energy crisis calmed.
