Dive Brief:
- Solar companies Suniva and Heliene entered into an agreement with chipmaker Corning to domestically produce solar modules made with polysilicon, wafers and cells manufactured in the U.S., the entities announced last week.
- Corning will supply the wafers while Hemlock Semiconductor, a joint venture with Japan-based Shin-Etsu Handotai, will supply extremely pure polysilicon from its Hemlock, Michigan, facilities, the chipmaker said in an email.
- Polysilicon is a key raw material for manufacturing solar cells, which will be made in Suniva’s Norcross, Georgia, plant, the companies stated. Heliene will manufacture the modules in its Mountain Iron, Minnesota, factory, CEO Martin Pochtaruk said in an email.
Dive Insight:
Corning is currently building a $900 million solar component manufacturing plant in Richland Township, Michigan, which will be operated under its subsidiary, Solar Technology.
The plant is making “excellent progress” and it’s ramping up hiring for more than 1,000 jobs, Corning said in the email.
The facility is expected to begin operations by year’s end, the Corning Leader reported last month.
With Corning and Hemlock Semiconductor in the picture, the solar cells will be produced with up to 66% domestic-made content and allow consumers to benefit from the investment tax credit, Pochtaruk said.
“This marks a major milestone in the process of onshoring the U.S. solar supply chain and is especially timely given the tariff announcements from the Trump administration [last] week,” Pochtaruk said.
Suniva and Heliene struck a strategic sourcing deal last March, in which they would use each other’s materials to make crystalline photovoltaic solar modules that qualify for a 10% domestic content bonus investment tax credit.
Heliene has been making supply agreements focused on “Made-in-America” solar manufacturing as well as avoiding obstacles such as President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs.
The company expanded its manufacturing and assembly line at its Mountain Iron facility and is building a joint solar cell facility in the Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota, area with Premier Energies.
Last year, Heliene signed a module supply agreement with UGE and a silicon wafer supply deal with NorSun that goes into effect next year. It also inked a contract with Origami Solar to soon bring steel-framed solar modules to North America markets.
