Solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology has inaugurated a new gigawatt-scale factory in Niestetal near Kassel, Germany, with an annual production capacity of more than 60 GW for utility-scale clean energy technologies.

The factory will manufacture central inverters, battery storage solutions, and energy management devices for utility-scale applications. The facility supports technologies for solar, storage, hybrid, hydrogen, and data center applications.

SMA said it developed the facility to address the growing demand for energy infrastructure as electrification increases across industries, mobility, digital infrastructure, and society.

The company has invested approximately €80 million (~$92 million) in the facility, which includes around €50 million (~$57.43 million) in lease payments and approximately €30 million (~$34.46 million) in one-time investments in production-specific infrastructure and equipment.

The facility spans 46,000 square meters, including 20,500 square meters of floor space, and is designed for greater scalability and production output.

SMA’s portfolio includes solar and battery inverters, solar and battery storage system solutions, energy management systems, electric vehicle charging solutions, power-to-gas applications, digital energy services, and related services.

The company said its solar inverters are being sold worldwide since 2006 and have a total output of approximately 156 GW.

During the first half of 2026, SMA sold 8,985 MW of inverter capacity, up 7.9% from 8,327 MW in 1H 2025. The company’s export ratio was 73.7%, down from 79.6% in the same period last year.

SMA is also targeting rising electricity demand from data centers. The company said it had secured its first U.S. data center project and expects further orders. It said SMA’s grid-forming technology and integrated solar-plus-storage offerings position the company to address the growing power demand from data centers and artificial intelligence applications.

Renewable energy manufacturing is expanding across major global markets, with Europe contributing to capacity additions despite slowing growth.

In 2025, a record 664 GW of new solar capacity was installed globally, taking the total operating capacity worldwide to about 2.9 TW, according to SolarPower Europe’s Global Solar Market Outlook 2026-2030. Europe became the second-largest region after the Asia Pacific, with 81.6 GW but recorded slower growth at just 3%.