Norway’s privately held NorSun AS, which manufactures and markets monocrystalline silicon ingots and wafers for the global solar industry, has raised $8.6 million (NOK 90 million) in new equity funding to finance the development of growth projects in the US and Europe.
The new capital will be used to finalize plans for a five gigawatt (GW) production facility in the United States. NorSun will also evaluate plans to expand further in Ardal in Vestland, Norway, targeting growth projects in the country and the rest of Europe, NorSun said in a press release.
Statkraft Ventures and Ardal Energi will enter as new NorSun shareholders, investing USD 3.8 million (NOK 40 million) and USD 0.95 million (NOK 10 million), respectively. The remaining capital is underwritten by three of the current major shareholders, Nysno Klimainvestinger, Scatec Innovation and ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund, as well as the company’s management and some smaller shareholders, Norsun said.
“Through this transaction, the company’s existing shareholders, new investors and creditors have made it possible for NorSun to use its position as a leading Western wafer producer for development and expansion, both in the U.S. United as Europe,” says Norsun President John Andersen, Jr. . said
“We are very pleased to become the new partner on the way to establish a leading Western wafer manufacturer,” said Anders Prietz, CEO of Statkraft Venture. “We believe that NorSun, as the only European wafer producer today, is well positioned to succeed in building a new 5 GW production facility in the US.”
“NorSun’s position as the leading Western producer of wafers for the solar cell industry has contributed to significant interest in our growth plans from customers and other business partners,” said the CEO of NorSun, Erik Lokke-Owre. “Together with existing and new shareholders, management will implement an ambitious growth plan. In a first phase, we will secure binding sales contracts and financing as the basis for an investment decision for the US plant, which is expected by the end of the year.”
In July, NorSun received $59 million (€54 million) in a grant from the European Union (EU) Innovation Fund for a 3 GW expansion of the company’s current ingot and wafer capacity in Årdal, according to a previous press release.
The terms of the award will be negotiated in the second half of 2023, while negotiations with customers and the implementation of a detailed technical preparation of an investment will be carried out in the same period, NorSun said in the statement, and he added that a decision is expected in the first quarter of 2024.
“We are very happy to receive this award. It sends a strong signal to NorSun and the Norwegian authorities that the EU is serious about urging Norway to actively participate in rebuilding the solar value chain,” said Lokke-Owre. “Norway. can become the EU’s strategic partner for the solar sector based on the significant experience of the high-purity silicon process industry, silicon ingots and wafers that we have in Norway.”
“Now the challenge is to clarify the Norwegian conditions of support for an expansion so that NorSun can accept this award and not only develop Årdal, but also continue to grow in other parts of Norway,” added Lokke-Owre.
According to the company’s website, NorSun’s manufacturing facility in Ardal has a production capacity of one GW, with all of its production based entirely on hydroelectric power, resulting in low carbon dioxide emissions.
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