PVTIME – Midsummer, a Swedish thin-film solar technology firm, has signed a binding investment and industrialisation framework agreement with PT Metalogika Rekayasa Sistem, an Indonesian technology company, to establish a joint venture for manufacturing flexible CIGS photovoltaic cells and modules in Indonesia.
The facility will initially have an annual capacity of 20MW. Both parties have agreed to assess expanding this capacity to 200MW once the plant has been commissioned and is operating stably. Subject to market demand, financing, operational performance, and further investment decisions, the site could ultimately scale up to GW-level output. Initial production will serve the Indonesian domestic market before extending to Southeast Asia and other regions.
Under the agreement, Midsummer will hold a minority equity stake in the joint venture and will supply its DUO thin-film cell production system, along with the associated technical services. Equipment procurement will only commence once the joint venture has been formally incorporated, the governance terms have been finalised, the necessary Indonesian regulatory approvals and incentives have been secured, project financing has been confirmed, and definitive equipment agreements have been executed. The two companies have stated that this sequencing is intended to establish the required investment and import framework before any manufacturing equipment is shipped to Indonesia.
The development in Indonesia follows Midsummer’s decision in early September to shelve its planned 200MW CIGS factory in Flen, central Sweden. This was after the Swedish Energy Agency rejected its application for funding under the Industriklivet programme. The company consequently relinquished €32.3 million in approved EU Innovation Fund support, stating that it would neither undertake large-scale debt financing for a capital-intensive plant nor seek substantial capital raises from shareholders. Sweden will retain a 5MW research and development pilot line to iterate the technology, while large-scale manufacturing will shift overseas.
Chief Executive Eric Jaremalm said that the company is pursuing long-term industrial partnerships that combine Midsummer’s technology and manufacturing expertise with the industrial capabilities of local partners, beginning with a clearly defined 20MW project while laying the groundwork for significant future expansion. Metalogika President Director Firrisky Nurtomo described the initial factory as a pragmatic stepping stone towards establishing large-scale photovoltaic manufacturing in Indonesia. He noted that this aligns with President Prabowo Subianto’s recently announced plan to install 100GW of solar capacity nationwide and to electrify 80,000 rural villages.
Beyond Indonesia, Midsummer is advancing several other international initiatives. It is in discussions with the Saab Group regarding a 200MW cell factory in Thailand and has secured approximately SEK 380 million in equipment orders for a project in Colombia. It is also expanding its wholly owned facility in Bari, Italy, to reach 50 MW of annual capacity.
