Carbon announced on May 19, 2026, that it was ending its planned solar factory project in Fos-sur-Mer, southern France. The company cited insufficient certainty over the European photovoltaic market and the policy support needed to continue.
The company was also reported to be in judicial liquidation under a court decision dated May 13, before the abandonment announcement.
The proposed factory in the Bouches-du-Rhône department had a planned annual production capacity of 5 GW and an estimated investment requirement of about €1.5 billion.
Carbon’s plan for French and European solar manufacturing covered silicon wafers, photovoltaic cells and finished modules. French authorities had designated the factory a Project of Major National Interest.
Carbon cites uncertainty over European market support
Carbon said it was ending the project after more than four years of work. Its founders argued that large-scale manufacturing was necessary to compete internationally, but that a supported European market was needed to absorb higher costs during the initial production ramp-up. They said investors had sought clearer regulatory guarantees before committing the necessary funding.
The founders criticized the Net-Zero Industry Act, adopted in 2024, saying its focus on diversifying supply chains had not created a preference for European production.
They also criticized the Industrial Accelerator Act, a regulation proposal published by the European Commission on March 4, 2026. The founders argued that its “Made in Europe” rules could extend eligibility to countries with EU trade agreements, potentially including Turkey, Vietnam and India, and delay a European preference until 2030.
Earlier changes to the manufacturing plan
Carbon had previously been reported to have considered a smaller panel assembly plant using cells imported from China. In December 2025, the company said it was working with Chinese solar manufacturer Longi.
The revised plan envisaged Carbon One, a pilot module assembly facility in Miramas, also in Bouches-du-Rhône, intended to test industrial processes and supply chains for the larger factory. It had a planned assembly capacity of 700 MW and was to use Longi’s back-contact cell technology.
Carbon chief executive Nicolas Chandellier argued at the time that a new factory could not reasonably achieve competitive costs and high production quality in less than four years without support from manufacturers experienced in designing and operating such plants.
