Toyo Co. plans to build a 1.5 GW heterojunction (HJT) solar cell manufacturing facility in the Houston metropolitan area. The company, which is a solar manufacturing company, is investing approximately $357 million into the project, which is expected to create approximately 400 direct full-time manufacturing jobs.

The new cell facility will be co-located with Toyo’s existing solar module site. The company expects the combined operations to reduce localized logistics costs, shorten the production cycle from raw wafer processing to finished U.S.-made solar modules, and leverage existing site infrastructure, management, and labor resources.

The facility will produce HJT solar cells at an annual capacity of 1.5 GW. The HJT technology is designed to provide enhanced conversion efficiency and temperature coefficients compared with legacy solar architectures, while also providing high power production in extreme heat through superior bifaciality and an optimal temperature coefficient.

Toyo expects full project completion and initial pilot production within 20 months. The company plans to execute the project in phases to comply with local regulatory and permitting requirements and expects to fund the expansion through internal cash flow, non-dilutive project financing, potential strategic partnerships, and equity financing.

Under current U.S. framework guidelines, domestic solar cell manufacturing qualifies for Advanced Manufacturing Production Credits under Section 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act. At full 1.5 GW capacity, Toyo said the project could qualify for up to $60 million annually in production tax credits. The company also expects approximately 1,200 additional jobs to be created across the regional supply chain and plans to prioritize local hiring and workforce development partnerships.

Integrated domestic solar manufacturing platform

In a recent quote, Takahiko Onozuka, chairman and CEO, TOYO Co., said, “Expanding into domestic cell manufacturing is the natural next step in our commitment to creating an integrated onshore solar supply chain from polysilicon to panels. Co-locating 1.5 GW of HJT cell capacity at our Houston module site significantly optimizes our capital allocation and infrastructure spend. Beyond the financial and strategic merits, we are proud to be potentially creating 400 good-paying manufacturing jobs in Houston metropolitan area and investing in the long-term economic future of this community.”

Rhone Resch, chief strategy officer, Toyo Co., added, “The new cell plant reflects Toyo’s long-term strategy to build a fully FEOC [foreign entity of concern]-compliant domestic manufacturing platform focused on serving the needs of the U.S. utility-scale solar market. By producing premium solar products in the United States, we will be well positioned to meet the market's evolving domestic content requirements while strengthening supply chain security and reliability. Looking ahead, we believe HJT is the optimal technology platform for integrating next-generation perovskite solar cells, which we expect will drive the next major advancement in solar conversion efficiency and support Toyo's long-term technology roadmap.”

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