Midsummer AB of Järfälla, Sweden, a supplier of turnkey production lines for manufacturing flexible copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar cells, has received a multi-million dollar order for its DUO manufacturing system from an undisclosed multi-national corporation. The client placed the order after visiting Midsummer and after thorough testing of the machine, which will be delivered in October.
The DUO is a compact, fully automatic deposition system for CIGS solar cell manufacturing, designed for high throughput, operational stability, optimized layer uniformity, and superior material utilization. "Our focus on lightweight flexible modules appeals to the market, as well as our use of sputtering for all layers, and that the production process is an all-dry, all vacuum process," says CEO Sven Lindström. Midsummer has developed a rapid process for the production of CIGS solar cells using sputtering of all layers of the thin-film solar cell, which allows scalable and cost-effective manufacturing.
"Fewer large-scale solar energy parks are being built in Europe and the global solar cell market is facing a paradigm shift," says Lindström. "Focus is shifting to installations on large buildings in cities. Lightweight and flexible thin-film solar cells are ideal for this market," he adds. "It is economically and environmentally more beneficial to use solar energy locally, where it is produced."
