What Impact Does The EU Carbon Footprint Certification Have On The Solar Industry?

The EU has forced imported photovoltaic modules to provide carbon footprint reports since 2026, and a 15% tariff will be imposed on non-compliant products, which will push Chinese companies to accelerate the localization of production capacity in Europe.

The impact of the EU carbon footprint certification on the global solar industry is mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. Compulsory certification requirements

The EU has forced imported photovoltaic modules to provide carbon footprint reports since 2026, and non-compliant products will be subject to a 15% tariff. This directly raises the threshold for Chinese photovoltaic companies to enter the European market. France, Italy and other countries have made carbon footprint certification a necessary condition for bidding for large projects, and some companies have been excluded from bidding because they have not obtained certification.

2. Regional differentiation effect

The European market accounts for about 46% of China's total photovoltaic exports. The certification pressure forces companies to prioritize the layout of low-carbon technologies. For example, Longi Green Energy and GCL Integration have passed the French ECS certification, reducing unit carbon emissions to 400-450 kg of carbon dioxide/kW, significantly improving their competitiveness. Companies that fail to meet the standards may turn to non-strict carbon constraint markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

1. Forced low-carbon technology innovation

Certification requirements drive the industry to optimize production processes, for example:

Material innovation: Use granular silicon (GCL Technology's carbon footprint is 37 kg CO2/kg) to replace traditional rod-shaped silicon to reduce power consumption.

Thinning technology: Thinning silicon wafers reduces silicon consumption and indirectly reduces carbon emissions.

Green power application: Introducing renewable energy in the production process, such as Tongwei Co., Ltd. reducing the carbon footprint of components through direct green power supply.

2. Short-term cost increase

Carbon footprint accounting requires tracing the entire industry chain (including raw materials, transportation, etc.), and certification fees and production transformation investment increase corporate costs. However, in the long run, technological progress can dilute costs. For example, the cost of TOPCon components is 8% lower than PERC.

1. Global capacity transfer

In order to avoid carbon tariffs, companies are accelerating localized production in Europe. For example, Longi and Trina Solar plan to build factories in Europe to use local green electricity to reduce carbon emissions. At the same time, India, Southeast Asia and other regions may become new manufacturing bases due to their low electricity prices.

2. Supply chain reconstruction

The EU carbon footprint certification requires tracing the source of raw materials and encourages companies to give priority to low-carbon suppliers. For example, manufacturers of auxiliary materials such as aluminum frames and silver pastes also need to obtain certification at the same time. Some companies (such as Xinbo Shares) have already made arrangements in advance.

1. Global carbon tariff trends

The EU CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) may trigger a chain reaction, and economies such as the United States and South Korea are promoting similar mechanisms. China needs to establish carbon footprint standards that are in line with international standards (such as referring to France's ECS and the EU's PEFCR) to avoid "carbon leakage".

2. Certification system disputes

There are differences in the calculation method of carbon footprint within Europe, for example:

Functional unit selection: Some institutions advocate calculation based on component power (kWp) rather than power generation (kWh) to avoid misjudgment due to differences in lighting conditions.

Data credibility: The EU questions the traceability of green certificates from non-European and American countries and tends to adopt the grid emission factor data of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

1. Increased industry concentration

Small enterprises may be eliminated due to insufficient technological transformation capabilities, and leading enterprises will expand their market share with their financial and technological advantages.

2. Expansion of application scenarios

Low-carbon components have become more competitive in BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics) and high-end project bidding. For example, the Netherlands and Germany have included carbon footprints in public project evaluation indicators.

3. Carbon market linkage

After China's green certificate trading and carbon market are connected, photovoltaic companies can hedge certification costs by selling emission reductions and form new profit points.

1. Optimize carbon emissions in core links

Silicon material link: Promote granular silicon technology (such as GCL Technology's carbon footprint of 37 kg CO₂/kg) to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Cells and silicon wafers: Use high-efficiency technologies such as TOPCon and HJT to improve conversion efficiency, and simultaneously promote thinning of silicon wafers (thickness reduced to less than 130μm) to reduce silicon consumption per unit module.

Production energy transformation: The factory introduces direct green electricity supply (such as Tongwei Co., Ltd. and Longi Green Energy through zero-carbon industrial parks) to reduce carbon emissions in the manufacturing process.

2. Full life cycle carbon management

Establish a full-chain carbon footprint tracking system from raw material mining to recycling, monitor carbon emission data in real time through IoT technology, and accurately locate high-emission links (such as silicon material production accounts for more than 40% of the module carbon footprint).

1. Global production capacity adjustment

Accelerate localized production in Europe (such as Longi and Trina Solar plan to build factories in Europe), use local green electricity resources to reduce carbon emissions, and avoid carbon tariffs.

Optimize overseas supply chains, give priority to low-carbon suppliers (such as aluminum frames and silver paste companies for simultaneous certification), and reduce carbon emissions in transportation.

2. Local procurement of raw materials

Deploy core links such as silicon materials and solar cells overseas to reduce dependence on China's high-carbon power grid (for example, use European green electricity to produce silicon materials).

1. Participate in the formulation of international standards

Promote the mutual recognition of China's carbon footprint standards with international systems such as the EU PEFCR and France ECS, and establish a unified accounting boundary (such as calculation based on power generation rather than power).

Join industry associations (such as the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronics) to build a Chinese photovoltaic carbon footprint database, update the grid emission factor, and avoid the EU overestimating the carbon emissions of Chinese products.

2. Respond to differentiated certification requirements

For strict markets such as France, apply for ECS certification in advance (such as LONGi silicon wafers and GCL integrated components have been certified) to meet the bidding needs of high-end projects such as BIPV.

Develop modular carbon footprint reports to adapt to the certification rules of different markets (such as EPD International, Italian EPD, etc.).

1. Application of carbon management platform

With the help of the photovoltaic carbon footprint public service platform developed by Envision Technology and other companies, carbon accounting and certification declaration can be completed efficiently, reducing corporate compliance costs.

2. Industry chain collaboration and green electricity trading

Cooperate with energy companies to develop green electricity trading mechanisms (such as selling emission reductions through the China Green Certificate Market) to hedge certification costs.

Join scientific research institutions (such as East China University of Science and Technology) to break through the low-carbon production process of new technologies such as perovskite and seize future market opportunities.

The EU carbon footprint certification is both a challenge and an opportunity for industry upgrading. In the short term, companies need to quickly comply with regulations through technological transformation, localized production and certification layout. In the long term, they need to promote the low-carbon transformation of the entire industry chain, participate in the formulation of international standards, and use digital tools to improve carbon management efficiency. Ultimately, through the three-dimensional collaboration of "technology + supply chain + policy", China's photovoltaic competitiveness in the global market will be consolidated.