Soltech NV is a Belgian company with production facilities located in Tienen. Soltech was founded in 1989 as a spin-off from imec and was a pioneer in the field of solar panels or photovoltaics (PV). Since the beginning, the company was also known due to the founding of its sister company Photovoltech, a solar cell manufacturer that at its peak had nearly 300 employees, but, like other European manufacturers, succumbed to Chinese competition in 2013.
Soltech itself remained intact and invested heavily in innovation in order to be able to produce custom solar panels and panels with greater added value. The company developed solar panels that can be used in construction applications – such as roof tiles, canopies, window glass or sound barriers – but also have their application in vehicle-integrated modules (VIPV).
The production of solar panels is still largely done manually, which has led to the need to carry out a restart. An important investment round, to implement new machines and further automation, was desperately needed. Due to the fact that the required capital could not be found in time, the company with its attractive order book and impressive know-how had to put the books down in March 2021.