The “Quantum Dot Enhanced Lightweight Solar Cells” (QDELS) project aims to develop and validate a new production process for CIGS (Cu In Ga Se) solar cells with a tandem perovskite structure enhanced with quantum dots (QD).

[Stockholm, Sweden, and Puglia, Italy, April 9, 2025.] Swedish thin film solar cell manufacturer Midsummer has been chosen by the Italian Ministry of University and Research to participate in a consortium with the aim to develop a new type of solar cell named "Quantum Dot CIGS/Perovskite Tandem".

The "Quantum Dot Enhanced Lightweight Solar Cells" (QDELS) project aims to develop and validate a new production process for CIGS (Cu In Ga Se) solar cells with a tandem perovskite structure enhanced with quantum dots (QD). The ultimate objective is to develop and validate a new process to enhance the efficiency of CIGS (Cu In Ga Se) cells, surpassing conventional silicon cells in all parameters.

For this purpose, Midsummer will receive a grant of approx. EUR 2.8m from the Ministry of University and Research for work and materials used in the tests. The project will run for four years starting this autumn and the total budget is EUR 7.5m.

Consorzio Hypatia and the National Research Council are the other two parties involved in the project.

Midsummer has a subsidiary in Italy, Midsummer Italia, which owns and operates Europe's largest facility for the production of thin film solar cells (in Bari), for which Midsummer has been awarded a total of EUR 22m in grants from mainly the Italian investment authority Invitalia. The new R&D tandem cell project is separate from the Bari factory project and grants.