Sweden will add 200MW CIGS thin film solar cell factory

Swedish solar manufacturer Midsummer has chosen to build a 200MW thin-film solar cell manufacturing plant in the city of Flen in central Sweden.

The company will take over the plant in September this year and expects to start production in 2026 before scaling up to full capacity in 2028. What is interesting is that this new factory will produce copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin film solar cells.

The plant will focus on lightweight and environmentally sustainable solar modules for commercial and industrial applications, as well as rooftops that cannot bear the weight of traditional crystalline silicon solar modules.

The project is one of three PV manufacturing projects that received financing last year through the European Commission’s EU Innovation Fund, along with module manufacturer Meyer Burger and Norwegian solar company NorSun.

Midsummer secured €32 million ($34.3 million) in financing for a CIGS thin-film solar cell factory.

Eric Jaremalm, CEO of Midsummer, said: “We had a number of locations to choose from in Sweden, but Flen met all our requirements, such as a suitable plant, a reliable power supply and local infrastructure conducive to this type of production.

Earlier this year, Jaremalm was appointed CEO of the company to accelerate its annual production capacity target of 250MW and build a second factory in Italy.