Lütfi Elvan: We have the infrastructure for chip production

Kalyon Solar Technologies Factory (Kalyon PV), established in Ankara in 2020 with an investment of 500 million dollars, has announced an additional 100 million dollar investment for 2024. Kalyon PV, where 80 percent of solar panel production is domestic, is recognized as the world's first and only integrated facility with four factories and an R&D center. The primary goal of the 100 million dollar investment to be made next year is to build a solar power plant that will enable this factory to generate its own electricity. Indeed, this is also an important step for Turkey's Net Zero Emission target set for 2053.

WE HAVE THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CHIP PRODUCTION

Kalyon Holding Vice Chairman of the Board Lütfi Elvan, while recounting the facility's establishment process, says that during the pandemic, the world decided to produce critical and strategic products within their own countries, and adds: "Turkey started this initiative before the pandemic. As a result of this vision, Kalyon Holding established an integrated facility that transforms polysilicon raw material into cells, and cells into panels. Currently, if we are to realize chip production as Turkey, we are taking the first step of this in this factory. Indeed, this facility in Ankara is also a technology company that possesses the semiconductor material production infrastructure necessary for chip production."

GOAL IS TO PREVENT ENERGY IMPORTS

Taking the floor after Lütfi Elvan, Kalyon PV CEO Ersan Tüfekçi emphasized that the goal for the new year is to reach a production capacity of 10 GW, and said, "We have a principled approach that we call 4T, consisting of society, nature, design, and technology. Our goal is to meet the increasing energy needs of future generations with the growing population in Turkey. We produce 2 GW of solar panels annually in an integrated manner as ingots, wafers, cells, and panels. Our goal is to increase production capacity to 10 GW and to curb energy imports in Turkey. When we reach a production capacity of 10 GW, we will be able to prevent approximately 20 million tons of carbon emissions annually and meet the daily electricity needs of 20 million people."

500 MW EXPORT TARGET IN 2025

Tüfekçi also mentions that they have export targets: "The facility has grown 4-fold in 3 years. In recent months, we made our first high-tonnage export to the USA. After completing our technology transformation in 2024, we have a target to export 500 MW in 2025. We have ongoing negotiations abroad. We are the only company in the world that produces with Turkish engineering, independent of China. Therefore, Europeans and Americans value our factory highly. We want to make a few sales in America first to create a market, and then we have a panel investment target there as well."

THE FACTORY WILL GENERATE ITS OWN ELECTRICITY

When we asked Tüfekçi how the 100 million dollar investment in 2024 would be utilized, he replied, "We are actually a technology company that produces solar panels. For this reason, the factory needs to remain technologically current, and technology transformation must be ensured. A technology budget should be allocated every year to keep the factory current. Besides this, we will use 70 percent of the 100 million dollars to install solar panels that will provide the factory's electricity generation."

R&D IS ALSO WORKING IN THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURE

Concluding his speech, Tüfekçi emphasized that they also prioritize projects in the field of agriculture: "The importance of food security is increasing. Together with our R&D center, we are prioritizing Agricultural SPP (Solar Power Plant) projects that increase the total efficiency obtained from the sun by providing the opportunity to grow crops under solar panels. R&D is being conducted for our country's farmers with a pilot Agricultural SPP application with a capacity of approximately 100 kilowatts established on 1.6 decares in Ayaş, Ankara. Kalyon PV's solar panels are used in this project.

News Source: 12punto