Mexico’s in-country energy innovator

Mexico

Simon Zhao, CEO of Solarever Group, and Carlos Gutiérrez, the company’s COO, talk to The Energy Year about the company’s development in recent years and what differentiates it from other solar and EV players. Solarever Group is a renewable energy and electromobility solutions company.

Tell us about Solarever and the changes the company has undergone in the last two years.
Simon ZHAO: Solarever is a Mexican company specialising in the development and manufacture of solar energy solutions. However, although we are primarily known as a solar company, today we are much more than this. Now, we also have EVs, energy-storage solutions and batteries in our portfolio.
We are like the Mexican Tesla, and this change is something we want to show to our investors, but we are waiting for the right time. However, despite these changes, we also want to continue to highlight the fact that we are a Mexican brand that manufactures and innovates right here in the country.

What differentiates you from competitors in the solar market?
Carlos GUTIÉRREZ: Firstly, Solarever is the largest manufacturer of solar equipment in Latin America. We are also the only company that has the UL Solutions and ISO international certifications on our modules, as well as the Made in Mexico certification, verifying that the modules are actually produced here.
Moreover, one of the main differences between us and other competitors in the solar industry is that all our production processes are developed and designed for the technology that we’re going to use within the next two or three years. This is vital, as the PV industry advances day by day. If you don’t continuously introduce the newest solar technology and production processes and automation, you can become obsolete within two years.
Another way we stand out from our competition is our delivery times. Currently, if we want to deliver half or one megawatt to a client, we can do this within one hour from one of our nine distribution centres. Therefore, we are not only manufacturers, but we are one of the very few companies that can supply one megawatt to and from any region in Mexico.

What are your main target markets and current clients?
SZ: The most important market for us is of course the US, to which around 60% of our products are exported, compared to the 40% sold locally in Mexico. Production from the Durango factory, for example, primarily targets this market.
However, of course Donald Trump and his imposition of 25% tariffs on Mexican-made products will be a huge challenge for us, especially considering that the reason we manufacture here is the proximity to North America.
Therefore, because of this uncertainty, we plan to invest more in the Latin American market. We already have some small projects in Guatemala, Colombia and Central America, and we will continue to invest more. At the moment, only 5% of our products are exported to Latin America.
With regard to our main clientele, we sell to commercial, industrial and residential clients in both Mexico and the US. It is also important to note that Iberdrola [now selling its Mexico assets] is a key client for us. They buy many of our products to build their own utility-scale power generation units. They are making an effort to support local manufacturing and brands.

Tell us about the expansion of your factory in Colima and the brand-new solar cell and panel factory you are building in Durango.
CG: Over the last two years, the growth of our Colima factory has been a big milestone for us. Two years ago, its capacity was 600 MW, but now we have 1.1 GW, which will allow us to power new production lines, with the ability to produce better and more efficient cells. Furthermore, today our plant is running within the 60-80% capacity range, which means that if the market demand is there, we can easily increase our production by 20%.
Furthermore, with regard to our new plant in Durango, once it is built it will double our current capacity to about 2.4 GW. Our plan is to build this plant as soon as possible, but the problem with this kind of factory is that it demands a lot of preexisting infrastructure.
For example, to produce the solar cells, the factory will require more than 2,000 tonnes of water daily, as well as vast amounts of energy. Today, we are still waiting on the government for this infrastructure. In addition to this, the uncertainty of US tariffs on Mexico has made us postpone our investment in Durango.

What differentiates the EVs of your subsidiary SEV from those of other EV manufacturers?
SZ: We are currently in the first phase of constructing our new SEV assembly plant, which should be ready this year. In this first phase, we foresee that we will be able to produce between 6,000 and 10,000 EVs yearly. In the second phase, this number could reach 50,000. Our first target is the Mexican market, and currently, we have three models: E-Wan, E-Friday and E-Nat.
Regarding what differentiates us from companies such as Tesla, firstly, we are focused on lower-middle-class clients, not upper-middle-class ones. Secondly, companies such as Tesla are focused on providing for the US and global markets. By contrast, as a Mexican company with local engineers and knowledge, our EVs are tailored specifically for the Mexican market.

What is your outlook on future opportunities in Mexico’s EV sector, and how will Solarever capitalise on them?
CG: The Mexican president has said she wants to reduce imports from China, especially in EVs, and she is showing particularly strong support for the sector, which is positive. This therefore provides immense opportunity for local manufacturing, and through R&D, we can consolidate the development of local Mexican technology and manufacturing.
Furthermore, as we develop and sell our EVs, we also need to develop the infrastructure to make this technology viable. We are therefore looking to build this ecosystem, not only by installing charging stations around the country but also by building solar energy storage for these stations.
One way we add value is that the same benefits we can provide in the solar industry also translate to the EV sector. The fact that we manufacture here, along with our quality and our delivery times, means we can respond very quickly to what the market and our clients need, whether that be more charging stations or cars. The ecosystem we create will allow us to push the market forwards.

What message do you want to give to the Mexican market, and where do you see Solarever in five years?
SZ: Firstly, we believe that the North American market is very important for Mexico. Despite everything, we need to maintain very good communication with the Trump administration to make sure free exports and trade to the United States and Canada can continue.
Secondly, I think that it’s very important for the government to provide some support to the industry by altering regulations to facilitate the entry of private investors and to incentivise local manufacturing and national content. This would really help the industry grow, as it would allow the industry to learn from China, the US and Europe and ultimately allow technology to be created in Mexico and compete with these countries.
Finally, our aim in five years is to increase our innovation and manufacturing capacity. Our vision is to take over more of the market across the Americas, including Central and South America. In the next five years, we also want to build the ecosystem around EVs so we can see independent electric charging ports and stations, not only nationwide but all across the greater region.

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