Cost-Competitive, vertically integrated PV manufacturing at

giga-scale: Benchmarks, policy signals, and execution lessons

 Peter Fath

RCT Group, Germany

E-mail: peter.fath@rct-solutions.com

Abstract

China’s leadership sets the global reference point for PV manufacturing. As demand surges into the multi-terawatt era and new markets pursue localization, investors and policymakers ask a practical question: how can regions outside China stand up bankable, cost-competitive, vertically integrated fabs—from polysilicon to modules—at speed and scale? Drawing on RCT Solutions’ experience in engineering and ramping dozens of factories worldwide, we present a data-driven comparison of cost drivers along the value chain and quantify the premiums for “fully-local” TOPCon modules in the EU and US versus China, identifying materials and labor as the primary deltas. We translate these findings into an execution playbook for 5–10 GW “fab-in-a-box” programs covering utilities and layout, equipment selection, skills and training, OPEX control, yield acceleration, and compliance with major policy frameworks (e.g., NZIA, IRA, PLI). Case insights include fully-integrated lines in Türkiye and fast-ramping corridors in India/MENA, alongside collaboration pathways with Chinese tool and materials suppliers to de-risk schedules and ensure quality. The talk closes with a readiness checklist for sponsors and lenders to shorten time-to-nameplate while securing lifecycle competitiveness for mainstream TOPCon today and SHJ/XBC pathways tomorrow. Findings are grounded in recent factory benchmarks and execution results.