Against the backdrop of the EU accelerating the local return of the photovoltaic industry chain, Spain has achieved significant industrial breakthroughs. Recently, Spanish engineering company Tresca was officially appointed as the owner engineer for Sunwafes' 20GW solar silicon wafer super factory project, marking the official start of construction for this huge photovoltaic manufacturing project with a total investment scale.

Project Overview and Technical Roadmap

The 20GW solar silicon wafer super factory is located in Spain and adopts a "pilot first, gradually expanding production" promotion model. The core goal is to accelerate the landing of local production capacity, optimize green production processes, and drive the growth of high skilled local jobs. The project is steadily advancing based on the N-type technology route, currently focusing on TOPCon technology, and gradually laying out HJT and BC technologies in the future, achieving a leapfrog development from pilot to scale.

As the owner engineer, Tresca will be responsible for core tasks such as factory design, power grid connection, commissioning and acceptance, safety and performance testing. At the same time, they will verify and control key links such as the rationality of production process flow, the adaptability of public engineering supporting scale, construction sequence, supplier screening, approval procedures handling, and environmental compliance one by one.

Risk Control and Supply Chain Assurance

To reduce project risks, Tresca will conduct front-end design optimization and construction feasibility assessment, clarify project scope, budget, and schedule, and minimize subsequent engineering changes. At the same time, through pilot line testing, equipment FAT/SAT acceptance, and yield target verification, clarify the silicon wafer production process and equipment list, and reduce the risk of transitioning from demonstration production lines to 20GW scale production.

At the supply chain level, Tresca will conduct pre screening of core equipment, spare parts, and consumables suppliers, implement a dual source supply strategy, and prevent supply chain interruption risks. In terms of contract design, EPC/EPCM service packages will be developed to establish incentive mechanisms linked to production capacity, equipment utilization, and unit energy/water consumption.

Green, low-carbon and cost advantages

The project will adopt renewable energy power supply and waste heat recovery technology, design a closed-loop water system and waste heat recovery system, effectively reduce operating costs and improve ESG performance. Simultaneously implementing grid capacity matching and redundancy design, combined with PPA agreements and electricity price hedging mechanisms, to stabilize the cost of electricity consumption during project expansion.

In the field of safety and environmental protection, Tresca will conduct HAZOP/SIL assessments, promote safety culture construction, design process waste gas and cutting waste treatment plans, and ensure compliance with the EU's stringent environmental and safety regulations. Simultaneously coordinate project approval and environmental impact assessment work, accelerate approval progress, and avoid design rework caused by compliance issues.

In addition, Tresca will assist the project in applying for EU subsidies such as NZIA and IPCEI, as well as national aid, to reduce the risk of project capital expenditures; Simultaneously connect with upstream polycrystalline silicon and silicon ingot suppliers in Europe, as well as downstream battery manufacturers, to lock in supply volume, unify product standards, and reduce risks caused by market fluctuations.

The smooth progress of this project will effectively shorten the supply cycle of EU photovoltaic products, improve the traceability of the supply chain, lay a solid foundation for the stable development of the EU photovoltaic industry chain, and also drive local employment and industrial upgrading in Spain, achieving a win-win situation of economic and social benefits.Editor/Yang Meiling