Freyr to acquire Trina Solar US manufacturing assets

US-based manufacturer Freyr Battery has agreed to acquire the US solar manufacturing assets of Trina Solar for $340 million.

The sites to be transferred include a 5 GW, 1.35 million square foot solar module factory in Wilmer, Texas, that started production in November 2024. That fab is expected to ramp to full production in 2025, with 30% of its output already contracted for US-based customers.

Freyr said the Trina acquisition is the first step in a plan to develop a vertically integrated US-based manufacturing footprint that will next include a 5 GW-per-year solar cell facility. The company is currently selecting a site and is targeting the second quarter of 2025 for the start of construction. The first Freyr cells should roll off that production line in the second half of 2026.

The manufacturer said it plans to create up to 1,800 direct jobs with the planned cell fab, in addition to providing the US solar industry with domestic content.

“We are pleased to announce this transformative transaction which will immediately position the company as one of the leading solar manufacturing companies in the US,” said newly-appointed Freryr CEO Daniel Barcelo. “We are proud to be partnered with Trina Solar, a global manufacturing and solar technology leader. Domestic manufacturing capacity for solar and batteries is essential for energy transition and job creation. The US was once the global leader in solar and it can be again.”

Tom Einar Jensen, Freyr’s co-founder, will become CEO of Freyr Europe and oversee the optimization and monetization of the manufacturer’s European portfolio.

Since going public in July 2021, Freyr has set up a battery gigafactory in Georgia with a $1.7 billion capital investment and plans to produce 34 GWh of products in 2025 before scaling up to 100 GWh by 2028. The Georgia facility will bring more than 720 jobs and Freryr has said it will invest more than $2.6 billion in the battery facility through 2029.

In anticipation of closing the Trina transaction at the end of 2024, and the start of solar module production at the Texas facility during 2024, Freyr has told investors to expect earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $75 million to $125 million during 2025, rising to $175 million to $225 million thereafter.

From pv magazine USA.