The 3Sun Gigafactory Story: From pumpkin seed to rocket ship

Episode 2 They were wonderful, exhilarating times, as often happens in the pioneering phases of a project. At the end of 2011, the 3Sun Gigafactory factory in Catania had started making thin-film solar panels and production was in full swing. They were months of intense work, but that’s also what made them great. We knew, we really felt, that we were part of a great collective endeavor. Day after day we were making a dream come true, and we knew that our daily work contributed significantly to this dream: a photovoltaic panel factory in Italy, in Sicily. It was a great source of pride for us, but also for Enel Green Power (EGP): its solar farms around the world could finally use modules of its own production instead of buying ones made in China. There were relatively few of us working at 3Sun Gigafactory in the early days, and that’s also why we made a great team. The atmosphere of trust was there from the very beginning and it instilled in each of us a sense of responsibility: we were proactive and we listened to each other. Without knowing it, we were embracing the values that were later adopted throughout Enel as the very definition of Open Power: openness to innovative ideas coming from anywhere, without prejudice. My colleagues and I were involved in designing the factory’s digital architecture. Within the IT sector, however, each of us dealt with a huge variety of issues, and at every level: from individual computers to local networks, from production system integrations to technological infrastructures that allow production machines to communicate with each other and with the business world. We used to joke among ourselves that we were going “from pumpkin seed to rocket ship.” Meanwhile, the team working on environmental issues was focused on optimizing production processes and minimizing waste. One of our greatest successes was the recovery of precious metals, especially silver: it was used in various production processes but it could be gradually lost during routine cleaning of the machinery. We introduced some innovative internal practices and partnerships with external companies to recover even the smallest amounts of silver from production waste. Basically, we put the Open Power spirit at the service of the circular economy: two concepts that we developed well in advance, independently and from the bottom up. From the very beginning, 3Sun Gigafactory has been as a great opportunity for Italy as a leading technological hub in the photovoltaic sector, and has become a feather in the cap of the technological district known as the “Etna Valley” after California’s Silicon Valley. Every time I arrive at the factory with my colleague and friend, we always comment: “The amount of innovation present in this building is really incredible!” But 3Sun Gigafactory is also a great opportunity for the local area and its communities in terms of jobs, both directly and with its related industries. We watched it unfold with our own eyes: the group was growing quickly along with the factory and production, and by the beginning of 2012 the team had already doubled. The factory was no longer in its infancy, it was taking its first steps. Within a few months, production was in full swing and on October 11, 2012, less than ten months since the beginning of operations, we reached the symbolic benchmark of one million film-thin solar panels. Then we kept on ramping up production: about a year and a half later, on February 21, 2014, we reached three million. The factory, our factory, had become a grown up.

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The 3Sun Gigafactory Story: From pumpkin seed to rocket ship

The 3Sun Gigafactory Story: From pumpkin seed to rocket ship

Giuseppe Modica

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