Swedish thin-film PV equipment specialist Midsummer has been awarded a SEK10 million (US$1.2 million) grant to support production and sales of its cell manufacturing machines.
The grant from regional development body Almi Företagspartner Stockhol Sörmland, backed by the European Investment Fund, is intended to provide Midsummer with increased resources for research and development of its ‘DUO’ machines, which produce flexible thin-film cells.
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“Our loan intends to provide opportunity for innovative companies to develop innovations and business ideas that provide growth and profitability,” said Fredrik Larsson, financial advisor, Almi Företagspartner Stockholm Sörmland.
Earlier this year Midsummer sold one of its DUO machines to an unidentified foreign firm. Its CEO Sven Lindström said: “We sold a DUO system this spring to a foreign multinational company, which is yet another proof of the market potential for our system. The DUO is a compact, fully automated system for production of CIGS solar cells. It is designed for high productivity, operational stability and superior material utilisation”.
One application for Midsummer’s thin-film cells is the building-integrated PV (BIPV) market.
Larsson added: “Through the funding we hope to provide Midsummer with the opportunity to develop and pursue its commercialisation. It is hoped that Midsummer can become a model for other Swedish environmental technology companies. It will be interesting to follow the company on its journey.”