Epax Solar vs ARTsolar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Both brands are closely matched on catalog size, efficiency and bifacial share - the choice comes down to local availability, price and specific model features.
Both catalogues are read from the manufacturers' own datasheets. A brand is not scored against the market here, only against the other brand on this page.
The two companies
Epax Solar is an owner-managed wholesaler for photovoltaic components. They reliably supply solar installers across Germany and Europe with a wide product portfolio, thanks to direct manufacturer partnerships and efficient logistics. Epax Solar is committed to clean energy generation and sustainability.
- Founded
- 2019
- Headquarters
- Deggendorf, Germany
- Employees
- 1-10
Catalogue against catalogue
An average over a catalogue describes the range a manufacturer publishes, not the module you would buy. A brand with two flagship panels and eighty older ones averages worse than one that has retired its back catalogue.
What each of them builds
Written summary
Epax Solar is a German photovoltaic distributor headquartered in Deggendorf, Bavaria, operating as a small owner-managed wholesale business that supplies solar modules, inverters, battery storage, and EV-charging equipment to installers and engineers across Germany and wider Europe. It is not a panel manufacturer and does not carry a Tier 1 or BloombergNEF bankability rating, as those designations apply to module producers rather than distributors. ARTsolar, by contrast, is a module assembler founded in 2010 and based in Durban, South Africa, widely described as the only locally owned solar panel manufacturer in the country. It operates a facility with roughly 340 MW of annual assembly capacity under a technology partnership with JA Solar, and has supplied panels to South Africa's government-led REIPPPP renewable energy procurement programme. Neither company appears on current BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer lists, though ARTsolar's JA Solar affiliation gives it a measurable institutional footprint within the South African market.
Because Epax Solar is a distributor rather than a panel brand, its effective product offering is the catalogue of whichever upstream manufacturers it sources from at a given time - a mix that can span budget, mid-range, and premium modules depending on availability and logistics. ARTsolar assembles a defined line of monocrystalline modules and, through its JA Solar partnership, has introduced n-type TOPCon cells - specifically the DeepBlue 4.0 Pro format - into its portfolio, targeting both utility-scale IPP projects and the broader commercial and residential segment in South Africa.
For a buyer outside South Africa, Epax Solar is the more relevant entity - specifically as a wholesale channel for European installers needing a broad mix of PV hardware. ARTsolar is purpose-built for the South African market, where it benefits from local-content policy incentives, though its near-term commercial outlook is uncertain given ongoing court proceedings over local-content compliance and the retrenchment of hundreds of workers in 2025. The two companies serve almost entirely different geographies and business models, making a direct product comparison largely inapplicable.
- JA Solar and ARTsolar agree to expand PV module manufacturing in South Africa
- Talesun, ARTsolar open 325 MW module factory in South Africa
- ARTsolar challenges local content compliance in South African solar tenders
- Court case tackles not-so-proudly-South African solar power
- Epax Solar GmbH - ENF Solar distributor profile
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-15
Other brand comparisons
Comparisons are computed from manufacturer datasheets held in the ComparePV database and may not reflect a brand's complete current lineup. Nothing on this page is paid placement.