T1 Energy announced that it has reached an agreement with Corning Incorporated (Corning) to procure high-purity polysilicon and solar wafers produced at Corning's manufacturing campus in Michigan, with wafer deliveries to its new factory in Austin, Texas set to begin in the second half of 2026. The solar cells produced at the Austin factory will then be shipped to Dallas for assembly into complete modules. This move signifies that the United States will achieve a fully localized integration of the photovoltaic industry chain from raw materials to end products, which remains rare in the industry.
The U.S. photovoltaic industry has long been plagued by capacity bottlenecks. According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the United States currently has 25 GW of polysilicon refining capacity, 2 GW of solar cell capacity, and 57.5 GW of module assembly capacity. However, there is almost a complete gap in the ingot and wafer production segments. Nevertheless, SEIA predicts that future new projects will add 8.3 GW of ingot and wafer capacity, 19.3 GW of cell capacity, and 15.3 GW of module capacity.
Daniel Barceló, CEO and Chairman of T1 Energy, stated that the United States is in urgent need of establishing a critical energy supply chain domestically. "The collaboration with Corning will accelerate the formation of high-end photovoltaic manufacturing capabilities in the U.S., support nearly 6,000 domestic jobs, and promote energy independence."
Corning has announced a $1.5 billion investment in its polysilicon and wafer factory in Michigan, which is expected to create 1,500 jobs. Meanwhile, T1 Energy will build its G2 factory in Austin with an investment of $850 million. The factory is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2026, with an annual capacity of 5 GW, and will create up to 1,800 full-time jobs. It will produce advanced TOPCon solar cells.
T1 Energy was formerly known as Freyr Battery. At the end of 2024, the company acquired solar manufacturing assets from Trina Solar for $340 million. In early 2025, Freyr abandoned the plan to build a $2.6 billion battery energy storage system factory in Georgia, shifted to photovoltaic manufacturing, and renamed itself T1 Energy. The acquired assets include an automated module factory in Wilmer, Texas, with an annual capacity of 5 GW and covering 1.35 million square feet. In the first quarter of this year, T1 has produced 443 MW of modules at this factory (now renamed G1 Dallas).
Source：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/U7HOiBAowNRuSwEdok99vw?scene=1&click_id=85