Sunlit Sea

What Sunlit Sea does

Sunlit Sea AS is a Norwegian floating photovoltaic technology company founded in 2019 and headquartered in Trondheim, specializing in prefabricated aluminum-floated solar panel systems designed for deployment on inland and near-shore water bodies. The core product consists of flat-lay solar modules mounted on anodized aluminum floats with circular dimples for thermal conductivity, butyl rubber (IIR) waterproof sealing enabling frameless construction, cold-formed clinch joints (V-Loc 5.5; 100 joints per float) replacing fasteners and welds, and integrated transducer antifouling technology. Panels operate with water-cooling for higher efficiency and are engineered for high wave and wind tolerance. Manufacturing partners include Hydal Aluminium Profiler (anodizing), BTM Scandinavia (clinching tooling), Metsolar EU (customized frameless 1655x1700mm monocrystalline panels), Whiston Industries (PLC-optimized press automation), and Andron Handling (semi-automatic assembly line), with reported production gains of 130% speedup and 80% scrap reduction.

The company operates an enterprise field-sales motion combining hardware sales with professional services billed hourly, bundled with product sales, or at fixed price. Services span three workstreams: solar development (project management, HOMERpro/PVsyst modeling, local energy communities, procurement), hydrodynamic development (MetOcean consulting, mooring and wave load design, wave tank testing), and product development (industrialization, prototyping, finite element simulation). Target use cases include hydroelectric dam reservoirs, desalination plants, marinas, dredging sites, industrial parks, and ports. Strategic channel partnerships drive distribution: Rixen Cableway (500+ wakeboard parks across 50+ countries, potential up to 30 MWp) and Emrgy (three upcoming joint solar-hydro sites totaling 7.5 MW). Named pilots and projects include the Honnørbrygga installation with the Port of Oslo (May 2022), Prototype 12 at the Tofte Næringspark green industrial cluster (June 2022), and Enova-funded 105 kWp winter-condition testing at Haugaland Næringspark (initial 105 kW May 2024, with a 1.2 MW project and an additional 1.9 MW project underway).

The leadership team consists of co-founders Per Lindberg (CEO, PhD Physics / MSc Nanotech, 15 years of solar project development and panel production) and Eirik Larsen (CFO/CDO, MSc Computer Science, 20 years of programming and business). The organization is small (1–10 employees). In November 2021 the company announced a target to raise 230 million NOK (~USD 27 million) within one year to establish at least one large manufacturing facility in Norway and become a leading global player in floating solar technology. The company also participates in the EU Horizon-funded SUREWAVE wave-breaking research project with SINTEF, was featured on Norway's official greentech marketplace (The Explorer), and is a participant in the Intersolar Europe conference in Munich.

Name

Sunlit Sea

Legal name

Sunlit Sea AS

Website

https://sunlitsea.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sunlit Sea AS, founded 2019 in Norway, designs and manufactures prefabricated aluminum-based floating solar panel systems for water bodies. It sells hardware and professional services to enterprise customers across hydroelectric dams, industrial parks, ports, and wakeboard parks.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Floating Solar Systems

NAICS

Solar Electric Power Generation (221114)

SIC

Prefabricated Metal Buildings & Components (3448), Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar EPC & Construction (Utility-Scale, Rooftop, Balance of System) (EUAMABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

PV Balance of System (BOS) & Electrical Infrastructure (Inverters, Transformers, Cabling, Substations) (EUACAGAC)

Keywords

• Floating solar panels
• Photovoltaic systems
• Renewable energy
• Solar power installations
• Modular solar technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Floating Solar Product Sales: Sale of prefabricated floating solar panel installations. Products are sold with associated services or as standalone offerings.
2. Professional Services (Hourly): Hour-by-hour charged services for floating solar projects. Can be standalone, bundled with product sales, or charged at fixed prices. Includes solar development, hydrodynamic consulting, and product development services.
3. Regulatory and Certification Services: Services related to permissions, guarantees, certifications, and regulatory compliance for floating solar installations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sunlit Sea designs, manufactures, and sells prefabricated floating solar panel installations built on anodized aluminum floats that lay flat on water for optimal cooling, wave tolerance, and wind resistance. The company also provides engineering services for floating solar projects, covering solar development (energy communities, project management, plant studies), hydrodynamic consulting (MetOcean, mooring, wave analysis), and product development (industrialization, prototyping, FEA simulation), typically charged hourly or bundled with product sales.

Product overview

Sunlit Sea offers prefabricated floating solar panel installations as its core product, designed for water bodies to boost renewable energy production. The portfolio includes the main floating solar panel product plus three service modules: Solar Development Services (energy communities, cross carrier connections, project management, and power plant studies), Hydrodynamic Development Services (MetOcean consulting, mooring design, and wave tank testing), and Product Development Services (industrialization, prototyping, and structural simulation). Services are typically charged hourly, can be bundled with product sales, or offered at fixed prices. The modular design enables quick installation and scalable deployment across various water environments including cottages, hydroelectric dams, desalination plants, marinas, and dredging operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sunlit Sea Floating Solar Panels Prefabricated floating solar panel installations that lay flat on water, providing optimal cooling from water underneath, excellent behavior on waves, and very high wind resistance. Engineered for durability with anodized aluminum floats and butyl rubber sealing to withstand extreme weather. Sold to enterprise customers across inland and near-shore water bodies.
• Solar Development Services Engineering services for floating solar projects covering local energy communities, cross-carrier connections, procurement, project management, and solar power plant studies using HOMERpro, PVsyst, and customized scripting tools. Sold to enterprise customers on an hourly, bundled, or fixed-price basis.
• Hydrodynamic Development Services Hydrodynamic and MetOcean consulting for floating solar projects, including wave, wind, and current design criteria, hydrodynamic and mooring design loads, green sea and slamming loads analysis, and wave tank testing. Sold to enterprise customers on an hourly, bundled, or fixed-price basis.
• Product Development Services Services covering industrialization, production optimization, factory-cell requirement specification, floating solar product development, product design, prototyping, testing, and finite element simulation of loads and structural integrity. Sold to enterprise customers on an hourly, bundled, or fixed-price basis.

Quantifiable outcome

• 29% annual growth predicted for floating solar market (vs 18% for land-based solar)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and supporting.

• Haugaland NæringsparkmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 20241.2 MW floating solar project at Skiftestjørna integrating with existing windmills. Initial 105 kW installation starting May 2024. Additional 1.9 MW project underway. Testing winter resilience for bankable installations in remote Norwegian areas.
• Metsolar EUcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 November 2023Partnership to jointly develop the floating solar industry. Metsolar provides customized frameless 1655mm x 1700mm solar panels (10x10 monocrystalline full cells, fully tempered glass) specifically designed for Sunlit Sea's uniquely designed floats. Products comply with European standards through quality assurance.
• EmrgycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Strategic partnership to harness canals for floating solar, providing cooling, light reflection, and debris barriers. Combined with Emrgy's hydrokinetic turbines for optimized solar and hydro energy with shared infrastructure. Three upcoming sites totaling 7.5 MW in joint solar-hydro projects.
• Statkraft Tofte ASsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 June 2022Tofte Næringspark organized by Statkraft Tofte AS hosts Prototype 12 launch. Green industrial cluster enabling climate-friendly growth and value creation. Module electrically commissioned with transducer antifouling.
• SUREWAVE (EU Horizon)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 May 2022EU Horizon grant project with Sunlit Sea, SINTEF et al. Focus on wave-breaking technology to support floating solar structures, expanding possible locations and decreasing wave-induced string mismatch losses. Funded through 'Sustainable, secure, and competitive energy supply' call.
• Port of OslosupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2022Honnørbrygga pilot installation in Oslo. Port of Oslo participates in data sharing for learning and knowledge sharing within floating solar field. Vice Mayor Victoria Marie Evensen and Port officials attended launch.
• OsloMet - Oslo Metropolitan UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 May 2022Academic partnership for Honnørbrygga pilot project. Contributing to data sharing and knowledge sharing within floating solar field.
• Andron HandlingsupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2022Selected for semi-automatic production line installation. PV panel manipulator installed as first part of assembly line. Transitioning from manual to automatic production for increased speed and quality.
• Rixen CablewaycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership to install floating solar in wakeboard parks. Rixen tours Europe showcasing Sunlit Sea's floating PV system. 500 existing parks with expansion plans; each site requires 30-105 kWp. Panels function as wave breakers, enhancing ride quality while generating power. Potential up to 30 MWp.
• Whiston IndustriessupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Manufacturing partner for press tool optimization. Implementing measures to improve production speed and efficiency of aluminum forming through adaptive machining, pneumatics, and PLCs. Achieved 130% speedup and 80% reduced scrap rate.
• Hydal Aluminium Profiler ASsupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Anodizing services provider in Raufoss, Norway. Performs electrochemical anodizing process on aluminum floats for corrosion, wear resistance, and visual finish. Dark grey color reduces visibility in water for city-integrated projects.
• SolarCleanosupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Partnership for operation and maintenance demonstration. SolarCleano M1 robot demonstrated on floating PV installations. Battery-powered robot with integrated camera, 800m²/h cleaning capacity, NO microcracks certified, suitable for harsh marine conditions.
• BTM Scandinavia ABsupportingTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Metal joining partnership using clinching technique (V-Loc 5,5) to seal aluminum sheets. Zero waste process, no fasteners or welds, less than one second per point. 100 clinch joints per float providing vibration resistance and leak-proof features.
• NTNU Energy Transition InitiativesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Academic partnership for knowledge sharing. CEO Per Lindberg appeared on NTNU Energy Transition Podcast #24 discussing floating solar technology and prefabrication benefits.
• EndrasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration with Endra and Ev Powercharge on Enova-funded floating solar installation testing at Haugaland Næringspark. Testing winter conditions for floating solar panels.
• Ev PowerchargesupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration with Endra and Ev Powercharge on Enova-funded floating solar installation testing at Haugaland Næringspark, including battery bank and fast EV charger.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ciel & Terre: Ciel & Terre is the global market leader in floating photovoltaic (FPV) systems with Hydrelio technology and over 1 GW deployed across 30+ countries. It is the most direct competitor to Sunlit Sea, addressing the same land-scarcity use case (hydro dams, reservoirs, industrial ponds) with a mature, utility-scale product.
• Ocean Sun: Norwegian floating solar company with a flexible membrane-based FPV system targeted at hydropower reservoirs. As a fellow Norwegian-headquartered FPV specialist with similar target segments (hydroelectric dams, reservoirs), Ocean Sun is a direct regional peer and likely competitor for the same customers.
• SGG Energy: SGG Energy is a French FPV technology provider offering modular floating solar systems for utility and industrial applications. It is directly comparable to Sunlit Sea in product (modular floats), target customer (utility-scale and industrial parks), and European geographic focus.
• Isigenere: Isigenere is a Spanish manufacturer of floating photovoltaic systems, specializing in HDPE-based modular floats for reservoirs, irrigation ponds, and industrial sites. It serves overlapping customer segments (hydroelectric, industrial parks) with a similar modular FPV value proposition to Sunlit Sea.
• Zimmermann PV: Zimmermann PV is a German floating solar specialist providing turnkey FPV systems across European industrial and water infrastructure projects. Comparable to Sunlit Sea in product design (modular prefabricated floats) and target markets (industrial parks, water bodies).

Broad incumbents

• Sungrow FPV: Sungrow is a global top-tier solar inverter and FPV system supplier, offering integrated floating solar solutions including inverters, floats, and monitoring. It competes with Sunlit Sea across utility-scale FPV projects but as a much broader incumbent leveraging its inverter and storage portfolio.
• JA Solar Technology: JA Solar is a top-tier global PV module manufacturer that has expanded into integrated floating solar solutions. As a broad incumbent with massive module manufacturing scale, it competes on cost and bankability rather than differentiation in floating infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Adrift Floats: Adrift Floats is a smaller European emerging FPV company offering modular floating PV systems. It competes with Sunlit Sea in the same emerging modular FPV niche but typically with smaller-scale deployments and a narrower geographic footprint.

Others

• CubicPV (Metsolar parent context): Metsolar EU is Sunlit Sea's panel supplier partner providing custom frameless 1655mm x 1700mm modules. As an upstream component supplier in the FPV value chain with adjacent custom solar module capabilities, it represents the supplier-side of the ecosystem rather than a direct competitor.
• Emrgy: Emrgy is a hydrokinetic turbine company that Sunlit Sea has partnered with on 7.5 MW joint solar-hydro projects. While not a competitor, Emrgy is thematically adjacent as a distributed water-based renewable energy company, and the partnership illustrates complementary rather than competing technology stacks.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuDWVcMb3metkdBTk1CSxig
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunlitsea

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunlit Sea