US cell manufacturer Talon PV and US module manufacturer SEG Solar have signed a deal that will see the former provide n-type cells for the latter’s modules from the first quarter of 2026.
The cell manufacturer is currently developing a manufacturing facility in the US, which will have an annual production capacity of 4GW tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cells. The company initially planned to commission the facility in the fourth quarter of this year, but now plans to bring the plant online in the first quarter of next year, to coincide with the dates of the SEG supply deal.
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Talon said the deal would “significantly increase” the amount of US-made components in SEG’s modules, and help the products meet the threshold for the domestic content bonus, an aspect of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that awards companies a 10% investment tax credit for using domestically-produced products in renewable energy projects.
“As US-based manufacturers, we share a responsibility to drive the resurgence of American manufacturing and support local job creation,” said SEG CEO Jim Wood. “With the support of the IRA, this collaboration will not only enhance our product competitiveness but also accelerate the growth of clean energy jobs in our community.”
A double-edged sword
The IRA has helped usher in a new wave of investment into the US clean energy space, with figures from the Department of the Treasury noting that, between the passage of the IRA in 2022 and January of this year, companies have invested more than US$196 billion in renewable energy in general, and US$92 billion in clean energy manufacturing in particular.
Last year, a report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie concluded that the US’ solar manufacturing capacity had nearly quadrupled in the first two years of the IRA, with manufacturers keen to take advantage of the financial benefits on offer.
Then this year, Japanese technology company TMEIC launched operations at an inverter manufacturing plant in Texas and US firm ES Foundry started production of cells at a 3GW facility in South Carolina. By the end of this month, SEG plans to commission its second production line at its Texas module manufacturing facility, which will give the plant an annual production capacity of 2GW.
However, the increasingly protectionist rhetoric of president Donald Trump has raised questions for the viability of US solar manufacturing. This month, Trump announced 25% tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium, key materials in the construction of PV modules just a week after Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies announced it has paused plans to build a cell plant in the US, citing policy uncertainty.
This week, ES Foundry CEO Alex Zhu told PV Tech Premium that tax benefits guaranteed under the IRA have become a cornerstone of many companies’ financial calculus when deciding whether or not to invest in US manufacturing capacity, and that without this supportive legislation “the whole industry will disappear”.
While experts from advisory firm Baker Tilly wrote for PV Tech earlier this year that IRA tax credits “should not be impacted” under Trump’s administration, it is unclear how this combination of limiting federal support for renewable energy projects and encouraging domestic manufacturing will affect the US solar sector in the long-term.
