Fortum buys into Swedish indoor solar cells maker Exeger

Finnish energy group Fortum Oyj (HEL:FUM1V) announced on Thursday it will acquire a 5% stake in Swedish solar technology company Exeger Sweden AB in exchange for a EUR-5.2-million (USD 5.6m) investment.

Exeger is engaged in the development and production of novel printable solar cells for use in consumer electronics, such as e-readers and tablets, on buildings and in other applications. It says that its flexible solar cells excel in indoor illumination.

“Fortum’s strategic investment is the last piece in our puzzle to prepare for our first global product launch. It will allow us to ramp up our production capacity even further in order to start accepting commercial orders in 2017,” said Giovanni Fili, Exeger’s CEO.

Fortum’s backing will help Exeger raise its annual production capacity to 15 million tablet-sized solar cells from the current 10 million units.

Commenting on the news, Anne Jalkala from Fortum’s Technology and New Ventures unit said that the firm will invest between EUR 100 million and EUR 200 million in “the most promising startups and funds” over the coming years.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.068)

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