NorSun bags US$8.5 million to build 5GW US wafer plant

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The company is one of the only European wafer manufacturers. Image: Unsplash

Norwegian solar wafer manufacturer NorSun has closed NOK90 million (US$8.5 million) in equity financing to support its expansion in Europe and the US.

The funding was led by Statkraft Ventures and Årdal Energi, who provided NOK40 million and NOK10 million each, with additional support from existing NorSun shareholders Nysnø Klimainvesteringer, Scatec Innovation and ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Norsun said that it will be looking to finalise its plans for a 5GW US wafer manufacturing facility, which will be coordinated with assessments for possible expansion in the Årdal region of Norway, where its current plant is, and other European locations.  

It will also add a research ‘centre of excellence’ to its Årdal facility.

“Through this transaction, existing shareholders, new investors and the company’s creditors have made it possible for NorSun to utilise its position as the leading western wafer producer for further development and expansion, both in the US and Europe,” said John Andersen, Jr., chairman of NorSun.

A report from the European Solar PV Industry Alliance earlier this year said that its target of 30GW of European manufacturing by 2025 is feasible if the right legislative and policy conditions are met. However, as it stands, there is just 1.7GW of wafer manufacturing capacity in the continent according to SolarPower Europe, and NorSun is a significant portion of that.

The company signed a supply deal with Swiss solar manufacturer Meyer Burger in February, to supply it with European-made silicon wafers.

NorSun was part of a group of solar industry representatives who called for increased focus on upstream PV manufacturing in Europe this January. They called for more favourable financial moves, subsidies, low interest rates and credit guarantees to spur upstream production.

Erik Løkke-Øwre, CEO of Norsun said: “Together with existing and new shareholders, the management will implement an ambitious growth plan. In the first phase, we will secure binding sales contracts and financing as the foundation for an investment decision for the US plant which is expected at year end.”

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Heliene has completed the sale of Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits in association with Minnesota-based U.S. Bank.
June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 30, 2025
US clean energy developer Clearway Energy Group has received corporate credit facilities over US$1 billion.
June 30, 2025
Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has secured a 30MW solar module supply agreement to power Australia's first "net zero pipeline”.
June 27, 2025
Renewables investment platform Nexwell Power has signed a round of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with “one of the largest” US tech companies for solar PV capacity to be built in Spain.
Premium
June 27, 2025
PV Talk: '2024 was a transformational year in terms of energy policy,' says Monika Paplaczyk ahead of this year's Clean Power 2030 Summits.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico