Project Dawn

The establishment of a 200 MW factory for the production of thin film solar cells in Sweden supported by the EU Innovation Fund.

The next step in the Midsummer journey

Midsummer’s long-term goal is to become the market leader for solar installations on low load bearing roofs in Europe.

The DAWN project sets the foundation for realizing this ambition and will be a vital part of restarting the European PV manufacturing industry. DAWN is the name of the project in which Midsummer will build a 200 MW factory for the production of thin film solar cells in Sweden starting in 2026 with the support of the EU.

The European Union see the DAWN project as one of the key projects in Europe that can offer a short term and long-term impact on avoiding carbon emissions in the EU.

As a result, project DAWN has been selected to receive EUR 32.5m in grants via the EU Innovation Fund, one of the world’s largest financing programs for innovative technology that contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The grant is specifically awarded for the construction of a factory in Sweden for the production of thin film solar cells of the CIGS type that are thin, light, flexible and with an ultra-low climate footprint. They are particularly suitable for installation on the many roofs around Europe that cannot support the weight of traditional silicon solar panels.

In the evaluation of Midsummer’s application, the EU gave the project top scores especially for scalability and the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: ”the proposal offers good potential to create new value chains in Europe in the field of thin film PV manufacturing industry, which will have a positive impact on European competitiveness”.

Innovation

The DAWN project will establish the first-of-its-kind CIGS thin-film solar cell and solar panel production factory in Sweden. The factory will set a new milestone in the Midsummer production process, aiming at a higher degree of automation and putting recent development projects into action.

The backbone of the production process will be the proven DUO equipment, an all-in-one thin-film solar cell coating unit, that produces the flexible CIGS solar cells. DAWN will scale up the current pilot line in Sweden that has been running since 2019, and the finished factory will produce Midsummer BOLD, aimed for large area roof tops.

Within the project the factory is set to reach a 200MW production capacity. This size has been pin-pointed to be the next step in the economies of scale decrease production cost even further. European solution that enables solar installations on low load bearing roofs, where traditional silicon panels cannot be used.

Accessibility

The project will supply Europe with lightweight flexible CIGS solar panels that can be installed on previously inaccessible buildings – a huge market.
They can over larger part of roof tops.
Installation is much quicker and easier than for traditional silicon panels.
Job market – The carriable properties of Midsummer solar panels opens up the growing solar installation sector to a broader scope of individuals than before.
The panels are basically glued on to the roofs with no need for penetration of the roofs.
With their light weight they can be installed on low load bearing roofs, which are a big portion of industrial and commercial roofs especially in southern Europe.

Emission avoidance

Over the first 10 years of operations the electricity generated by the produced solar panels from the factory will help to avoid ~1 070 000* tonnes of CO2e emissions.

According to a comprehensive third-party life cycle assessment (LCA), Midsummers’ thin-film CIGS solar panels exhibit an exceptionally low carbon footprint, estimated at 3 to 7** grams of CO2 equivalent per kilowatt-hour (gCO2e/kWh) produced. This positions Midsummer solar panels as one of the most environmentally friendly energy options available today, even more sustainable than Hydro and Wind power. The DAWN project is set to further propel the adoption of this sustainable energy source by ramping up production capacity for this cutting-edge technology.

(*Avoidance figure based on EU Green House Gas calculation methodology with a reference emission of 0,1757 tonnes CO2e/MWh (175,7 g/kWh) projected in year 2030 in the EU).

(** gCO2e/kWh is dependent on the location of the solar installation. For example, 7gCO2e/kWh is accurate when installed in the Nordics while 3 gCO2e/kWh correspond to a solar panel being installed in Southern Europe).

Supporting European energy independence, panel by panel

Equipment and production technology developed in Europe.
Vertically integrated value chain.
Reduces political and supply chain risk of importing solar cell technology and products from outside the EU.
Creating jobs and technological know-how in Europe.

Scalability

The DAWN project will serve as a blueprint factory for future developments across Europe. Midsummer has a clear ambition to establish a number of these factories across Europe.
The project will provide approx. 200 job opportunities at the site and in-directly generate around 400 job opportunities from surrounding services in the area.
“The scalability at the project site and technology transfer to other sites, at regional and European level, is suitably addressed. For example, the applicant credibly plans to set up additional plants with the same technology in European countries.” -Innovation Fund

Timeline

Project start: September 2023
Grant agreement negotiations with EU: September 2023-December 2023
Grant agreement signature with EU: December 2023
Finalization of Financial Plan for the project: Dec 2023 – Apr 2024
Financial close: April 2024
Production start: January 2026
Production ramp up period: January 2026 – December 2027
(full capability in start of 2028)