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2024-04-15
Sunsurf Solar wins the Swedish Solar Energy Award
Last updated: 2025-03-07 17:15
Before Christmas, Sweden's first floating photovoltaic system was installed north of Gothenburg. Behind the system is the start-up company Sunsurf Solar, which is now being recognized for its work. During the Swedish Solar Energy Association's annual meeting, they received the Achievement of the Year award.
-"We are incredibly proud to receive the Swedish Solar Energy Award for the year's achievement. The fact that we managed to take first place in fierce competition means that we are doing many things right and that floating solar cells now have a place in Swedish solar energy," says Marc Montgomery, CEO of Sunsurf Solar.
Since 2004, the Swedish Solar Energy Association has awarded the Solar Energy Prize in three categories - Land Plant of the Year, Building Plant of the Year and Achievement of the Year. The awards go to facilities, companies or individuals whose progress is worth highlighting as good examples to be inspired by.
Sunsurf Solar was founded in 2020 by Martin Örgård, Marc Montgomery and Björn Larsson, friends since childhood and with a burning interest and passion for the environment. The business idea was born when the friends brainstormed new ways to harness solar energy in a way that not only generates clean energy, but also creates benefits such as water savings and land use optimization.
Since 2022, Sunsurf Solar has been part of Innovatum Science Park's incubator in Trollhättan. Since the beginning of the year, they are also part of Founders Loft's incubator in Gothenburg.
Jury's motivation
Using water bodies for floating solar farms increases the potential for large-scale projects where there may be competition for land resources. Floating solar farms reduce water evaporation, while the cooling effect increases the efficiency of solar cells.
Sunsurf Solar's floating solar farm technology is innovative, in part because it is built to withstand the Nordic climate. By using double-sided solar cells, electricity production increases. At the same time, the solar cells let light through so that photosynthesis does not stop in the pond.
With Sweden's first floating solar plant, Sunsurf Solar is showing that the limits of solar energy in Sweden are not limited to ground and roof installations. Their work is a model of initiative and an inspiring reminder that technological development and sustainability can go hand in hand.
The team behind Sunsurf Solar consists of Martin Örgård, Marc Montgomery and Björn Larsson, friends since childhood, and with a burning interest and passion for the environment.
In the fall of 2023, the team raised 2 million in venture capital. Here they are together with investors Martin Norling, CEO Gena management and Fredrik Nyberg, CEO of Kungälvs Garden Center.
Säve, one of the country's largest nurseries, has over the past decade put a lot of focus on energy efficiency and optimizing its land use in various ways. The result is that they can now grow significantly more on the same area than a few years ago.
