Swift Solar announced today that it has acquired Meyer Burger’s solar manufacturing assets, advancing the commercialization of perovskite cells and reinforcing its effort to establish a solar supply chain that is independent from China.
The startup, which was founded in 2017 and raised $27 million in Series A funding in June 2024, is known for pushing perovskite solar cells — lighter and more efficient than traditional crystalline silicon, but less durable and still unproven at scale. Through this acquisition, Swift Solar gains access to Meyer Burger’s heterojunction silicon portfolio, which combines crystalline and amorphous silicon and serves as the ideal base for Swift’s perovskite layers, Swift CEO Joel Jean said.
The move will enable the company to evolve from a cell developer into a full-stack manufacturer with a Western supply chain. It comes at a time when domestic manufacturing incentives and new FEOC rules, which penalize companies with Chinese-sourced components or other ties to China, provide U.S. solar manufacturers with what Jean calls a “window of opportunity to reach scale.”
“And it’s today, and it’s bipartisan,” he told Latitude Media. “It’s driven by a lot of macro trends consistent across different administrations: We’re seeing [that] 45X tax credits are being maintained, domestic content [bonus credits are] still relevant for the next four to five years, tariffs and trade barriers are only going up.”
Toward bankability
Meyer Burger, which was once one of the highest-profile European solar cell manufacturers, filed for Chapter 11 protection in June 2025. The bankruptcy came after several troubled years during which the company struggled with what it described as “unfair market conditions in Europe,” primarily driven by an oversupply of low-cost Chinese imports.
The company attempted to move production to the U.S. in 2023 to take advantage of domestic content manufacturing incentives, but its efforts ultimately didn’t get enough traction. It has since been liquidated in parts: In January 2026, U.S. space solar panel maker Solestial acquired some of its German manufacturing equipment, while in September 2025, its U.S. machinery and cell equipment was bought by several companies including DESRI.
But, in addition to some of the remaining manufacturing assets, Swift’s acquisition targets Meyer Burger’s intellectual property; some of its engineering team will also be joining the company, bringing the relatively young startup decades of experience with a proven technology like heterojunction silicon.
“The new acquisition… is combining the most proven Western silicon technology, the heterojunction technology pioneered by Meyer Burger… with the best American perovskite technology, and bringing those under one roof,” Jean said.
In a way, it’s a necessary step for Swift Solar to achieve bankability. Perovskite solar cells have promise, but they have so far struggled to achieve commercial viability, partly because of the panels’ relatively short lifespan. As Jean noted, the company is not yet ready to “warranty for a 25-year panel.”
At the moment, Swift Solar has two ongoing pilot projects: a microgrid system deployed with the Department of Defense in Virginia and a utility-scale project with Plenitude, in Texas. Through the acquisition, Swift now owns gigawatt-scale manufacturing equipment. While these assets are currently located in Germany, Jean said they were built with Meyer Burger’s planned move to the U.S. in mind, and Swift is now “in a position to complete those plans.”
“The real threshold is climbing this bankability mountain,” Jean said, noting that the process requires proving field data, passing International Electrotechnical Commission certifications, and completing factory audits. “It’s going to happen over the next two, three, or four years”.
As Swift Solar works toward crossing that threshold with its perovskite technology, the acquisition of Meyer Burger’s assets can help the company scale and get a commercial line running.
“What this acquisition accelerates is a real, full-scale commercial line relying on a proven technology that’s already bankable,” Jean said. “Leveraging that… we can build the tandem [perovskite cells] over time, and introduce that to the same customers who have already seen a bankable, Swift Solar heterojunction panel.”
