New Thin Film Module Factory Planned in Europe

• Midsummer lands over €32 million funding under the EU's 3^rd Innovation Fund call for large scale projects
• It has been selected for a 200 MW new factory the company plans to set up for CIGS thin-film solar cells
• Management said Midsummer aims to become the largest manufacturer of thin-film solar cells with several factories around Europe

Swedish solar cell manufacturer Midsummer's plans to set up a new 200 MW 'mega-factory' to roll out thin-film solar cells have secured financial support from the European Commission's Innovation Fund under 3^rd call for large scale projects.

Midsummer says it won more than €32 million for its project dubbed DAWN for its scalability and potential to reduce GHG emissions, with Meyer Burger and NorSun among 41 winners (see Boost For European Clean Tech Manufacturing).

The company uses copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) technology for its thin-film products for which it targets rooftops around Europe that can't support the weight of conventional silicon solar panels. As per its business model, the Swedish manufacturer sells solar cells to companies in industries like construction, roofs, while also making and installing solar cell roofs directly for end customers (see North America PV News Snippets).

Midsummer currently operates a fab in Järfälla, Sweden with approximately 2 MW annual capacity, producing 'discreet' solar roofs claiming a 90% lower carbon footprint than traditional panels. Last year, the company announced its ambition to expand the capacity by around 20 MW initially, and scale it up to 200 MW thereafter. It is also adding a new factory to its portfolio in Italy with 50 MW capacity (see Midsummer Gets Italian Support For Solar Fab).

Under its Midsummer Machinery brand, the manufacturer also supplies production systems for flexible thin-film solar cells (see European & Chinese Partners For Australian PV Research).

"We have ambitions to become Europe's largest manufacturer of thin-film solar cells with several factories around Europe, and this support will of course facilitate the establishment of our second mega factory – we will soon open a 50 MW factory in Italy," said Midsummer CEO Sven Lindström.

In March 2023, along with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Midsummer announced achieving 24.9% efficiency for a perovskite-CIGS tandem solar cell using 4T architecture. They aim to produce highly competitive 2T perovskite-CIGS cells for mass production (see 24.9% Perovskite-CIGS Tandem Solar Cell Efficiency).

Another of the 3 solar winners in the the 3^rd EU Innovation Fund round for large scale projects, Swiss headquartered heterojunction (HJT) solar PV technology company Meyer Burger Technology AG has announced plans to add 3.5 GW solar cell and module production capacity after winning €200 million (see EU Innovation Fund Swiss Winner's Growth Plans).