Borosil Renewables to wind up German unit, focus on Indian solar glass

Business Standard

4 days ago

Borosil Renewables has filed an application to wind up operations of its German subsidiary to sharpen focus on the Indian solar glass market with immense potential.
In a regulatory filing, Borosil Renewables Ltd said its material step-down subsidiary in Germany, GMB Glasmanufaktur Brandenburg GmbH, has filed an application for the commencement of insolvency proceedings before the Insolvency Court at Cottbus, Germany, in accordance with the German Insolvency Code (InsO).
This decision was reached after a comprehensive assessment of market conditions, financial viability, and long-term strategic priorities.
"The challenges for GMB began with slide in demand for German made solar panels, when faced with the precipitous drop in prices by Chinese manufacturers of solar panels, who have engaged in large scale dumping in the European market, using predatory pricing.
"Despite the alarms sounded by the German solar module manufacturers seeking protection against such dumping, policy responses to date have been insufficient," the filing said.
Lack of meaningful protective measures by the authorities concerned has led to the shutdown of major solar module manufacturers in Germany, with some of them filing for the commencement of insolvency proceedings.
Eventually, this resulted in the disappearance of the market demand for solar glass manufactured by GMB, causing substantial losses to GMB, which has affected the consolidated financials of the company, it said.
The company/GMB has approached the authorities concerned to get some quick measures in place.
GMB (capacity of 350 tonnes per day) was once a vital part of Borosil's global footprint, serving the European solar glass market. However, since the second half of 2023, the landscape changed dramatically.
A significant increase in low-cost solar panel imports from China created unprecedented pricing pressure, leading to a rapid decline in demand for German-made modules and, consequently, for locally produced solar glass. Lack of meaningful protective measures by the authorities has led to the shutdown of major solar module manufacturers in Germany, with some of them filing for the commencement of insolvency proceedings.
As of March 31, 2025, Borosil's total exposure to GMB and its associated German entities stood at 35.30 million euros, or approximately ₹340 crore. This includes both capital investments and loans extended over time to sustain German operations.
From the date of the insolvency filing (July 4, 2025), Borosil will no longer account for GMB's monthly losses.
Analysts said the insolvency filing will lead to sharper focus on Indian operations that are witnessing significant tailwinds.
The move allows Borosil Renewables to halt capital bleed in a structurally declining market and reallocate resources toward its growth nucleus: India.
India presents a compelling growth story driven by sizeable addition to solar power capacity every year, strong demand for solar infrastructure, supportive government policy (including PLI schemes and ALMM for modules and cells), and a favourable cost base.
Manufacturing capacity for solar modules has already reached 90-plus gigawatts and is expected to rise to 150 gigawatts by March 2027. Thus, there is a huge scope for capacity addition and import substitution.
With this pivot, Borosil aims to double down on its leadership in solar glass innovation, manufacturing scale, and ESG-driven clean energy technologies, they said.
In May this year, Borosil Renewables announced its plan to raise production capacity for solar glass by 600 tonnes per day, by setting up two furnaces of 300 TPD each at an estimated cost of ₹950 crore.
This translates into significant capacity addition of 60 per cent, considering Borosil's existing manufacturing capacity of 1,000 TPD. The imposition of anti-dumping duty for a period of five years, effective from December 4, 2024, on the import of solar glass from China and Vietnam is leading to a level playing field for domestic manufacturers.
This policy measure is anticipated to foster rapid and significant growth in domestic solar glass manufacturing.
The imposition of anti-dumping duty has also led to a significant improvement in domestic prices for solar cells. For example, average ex-factory selling prices for solar glass during Q4 FY25 were about ₹127.6 per millimetre per square metre as compared to ₹99.6 per millimetre per square metre in the same period in FY24, translating into an increase of 28 per cent.
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