CubicPV scraps 10GW US wafer factory due to “dramatic collapse in prices”

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The facility had been in the works since late 2022, but has now been deemed unviable. Image: CubicPV

US solar manufacturer CubicPV has abandoned its plans for a 10GW solar wafer manufacturing facility in the US and is “restructuring” its business to focus on tandem technology module development.

The company’s CEO and solar industry veteran, Frank Van Mierlo, has also stepped down.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

In a statement, CubicPV blamed “market dynamics including a dramatic collapse in wafer prices and a surge in construction costs” for its failure to realise a domestic manufacturing base. Jobs that were tied to the wafer production facility have been cut.

Van Mierlo said: “Together with our board, we’ve concluded that the one thing that could truly make a difference in humanity’s fight against climate change and the US’s ability to realise a solar manufacturing renaissance is to invent a better panel. Moving forward, the Cubic team is fully dedicated to delivering this solution to the world. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and know there is more to come.”

CubicPV first announced plans for the 10GW facility in December 2022, which it said would be developed alongside its work on silicon-perovskite tandem solar technology. Over the course of 2023 the company received a US$103 million equity financing deal to support the factory, announced an engineering partner and, most recently, inked a US$1 billion polysilicon supply deal with South Korean-owned producer OCIM.

Concerns over solar module prices has been the reason for the abandonment of a number of solar manufacturing plans of late, but the majority have been in Europe. As discussed in a long read published today on PV Tech, the European manufacturing sector has been brought to its knees by drastically falling prices on solar imports that have pushed companies out of the marketplace.

CubicPV is one of the first companies operating in the US to abandon manufacturing plans due to price pressure, as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has had a cushioning effect for US companies. Incentives in the IRA, however, seem to have mostly stimulated investment into module assembly plants rather than the further upstream, more complex portions of the solar supply chain, like wafers, which CubicPV was targeting.

The company will now focus its business on developing and commercialising perovskite solar products.

High-performance perovskite-based solar products have so far eluded commercial production, predominantly due to the unsustainable rates of degradation the material suffers when exposed to the elements. CubicPV has been seen as one of the most viable companies trying to develop the technology in the US; it is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Southeast Asian conglomerate SCG, and has attracted notable names from the solar industry like First Solar’s Bruce Sohn and, until today, Van Mierlo.

Of its work on perovskites, the company said: “Cubic’s module-centric approach simultaneously addresses stability, reproducibility and efficiency and promises to solve the durability challenge that has slowed the commercialisation of perovskite material use in solar panels.”

Earlier this week, solar research institute Oxford PV and testing house Fraunhofer ISE announced a “record-breaking” perovskite-tandem module with a 25% conversion efficiency.

17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.
7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.

Read Next

June 9, 2025
Solar manufacturer Qcells has launched a recycling arm, called EcoRecycle, and a recycling plant in the US state of Georgia.
Premium
June 9, 2025
N-type polysilicon prices have dropped to RMB34,000/ton as the project installation rush ends, putting cost pressure on the industrial chain.
June 9, 2025
Saatvik Solar, a unit of Saatvik Green Energy Limited (SGEL), is building a 4.8GW solar cell and 4GW module manufacturing facility in Ganjam district of Odisha.
June 9, 2025
Growing political headwinds threaten to dent US solar manufacturing and project deployment, despite a strong start to 2025.
June 9, 2025
US residential solar installer Sunnova has laid off more than half of its workforce, while a subsidiary from Delaware filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
June 6, 2025
rPlus Energies has secured more than US$500 million for an 800MW solar-plus-storage project in Emery County, Utah, US.  

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece