Amidst the uncertainty around Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) incentives in the US, T1 Energy has signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement with Manaar Gulf Saudi Arabia to explore investment in its 5 GW G2_Austin solar cell manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.
“With this agreement in place, our teams will be working to secure this capital and advance T1’s mission to bring investment, jobs, and key supply chains to America. As this relationship develops, we are also pleased to examine complementary opportunities to invest in the Kingdom’s solar manufacturing sector,” said T1 CEO and Chairman of the Board, Daniel Barcelo.
Formerly known as FREYR Battery, T1 Energy runs a solar module manufacturing plant in Wilmer, Texas, with 5 GW capacity. Dubbed G1_Dallas, which is now fully installed, commissioned and operational. It acquired this facility from Trinasolar (see Amid ‘Geopolitical Risks’ Trinasolar Sells Off 5 GW US Solar Module Plant).
G2_Austin is the company’s planned 5 GW solar cell plant. Along with exploring project financing, the company is also monetizing Section 45X production tax credits (PTC) and possible mezzanine financing options to complement expected customer offtake deposits to reserve this capacity.
T1 management, however, is worried about the uncertain status of the tax credits in the US, due to which it sees a slowdown in commercial activity (see US Legislation Proposes Earlier Phase Out Of Clean Energy Tax Credits).
In Q1 2025, it incurred a net loss of $17.1 million. It has lowered its 2025 EBITDA guidance range to $25 million to $50 million from $75 million to $125 million, to reflect the impact of near-term policy uncertainties on the merchant sales environment.
At the lower end of its 2025 EBITDA guidance range, it expects to exit 2025 with more than $100 million of cash and liquidity, owing to 1.5 GW of high-margin customer offtake contracts and the anticipated start of Section 45X PTC monetizations in Q2 or Q3 this year, among other reasons. T1 has also lowered its annual module production guidance from 3.4 GW to 2.6 GW to 3.0 GW.
“While G2 project financing process is currently progressing on schedule, closing will likely follow tariff and policy uncertainty,” stated the company in its Q1 2025 earnings call. “T1’s position is that Section 45X, 48E, and 45Y IRA incentives are critical facilitators of American Energy Dominance.”
The company has secured a 253 MW module sales agreement for 2025 with a utility-scale developer. In 2025, till May 11, it produced 688.3 MW of solar modules. It is currently converting the module plant from PERC to TOPCon technology. T1’s future roadmap includes polysilicon and other BOM components.
“In addition, our plans to establish a vertically integrated U.S. solar value chain, coupled with our domestic content strategy, are generating meaningful interest from customers, prospective capital providers, and industrial partners,” added Barcelo.
Meanwhile, uncertainty around the fate of IRA tax credits continues to mount as SEIA fears that, in its present form, the Reconciliation Bill of the US House Ways and Means Committee could jeopardize nearly 300 solar and storage factories in the US (see SEIA: 300 Solar & Storage Factories At Risk With US Legislation).
