ArcelorMittal expands solar energy portfolio with Exosun acquisition

Paris, January 4, 2018 - The Commercial Court of Bordeaux has confirmed ArcelorMittal will take over the assets of Exosun, a company that specialises in trackers for solar farms.

Based in Martillac, France, Exosun designs, develops and markets steel solar trackers that allow photovoltaic panels to follow the sun's path, and thus increase the performance of ground-mounted solar farms. Exosun has 10 years’ experience in the solar energy market during which time it has developed state-of-the-art technology. Its highly skilled 43 employees have delivered more than 55 solar farms all around the world, amounting to a total 700 MW installed capacity.

ArcelorMittal already operates in the solar energy market thanks to its steel solar frames which are manufactured in units in Europe, China and Egypt, and its corrosion- and abrasion-resistant Magnelis^® steel. Being part of ArcelorMittal will enable the new entity to benefit from commercial, industrial and R&D synergies. The group will also leverage its financial strength to allow the entity to serve its customers in the major solar projects.

The global photovoltaic energy market is expected to grow by 15 installed gigawatts (GW) a year from 2017 to 2020, from 75 installed GW in 2016, half of which will be in large-scale solar farms. Trackers are an emerging solution that increase profitability and now account for 25% of the large solar farms market (as opposed to fixed-structure panels that have no tracker and therefore do not move). It is estimated that they could account for up to 50% of this market by 2020.

Johannes De Schrijver, CEO of ArcelorMittal Projects, said: "With the acquisition of Exosun's assets, ArcelorMittal's solar energy offering is taking on a new dimension. We will provide our customers with the industrial expertise and guarantees they expect to carry out their projects and contribute even more to the energy transition".

Frédéric Conchy, founder and Chairman of Exosun, also commented: "We are delighted with this acquisition. ArcelorMittal is the ideal partner to capture market share in a sector experiencing strong growth and consolidation: being backed by a strong industrial player is vital to becoming a leading global player".

Exosun assets will be part of the ArcelorMittal Projects division that already has a global activity covering large projects in the Energy and Civil Construction markets.