First Solar has signed a non-exclusive patent licensing deal with CubicPV
It covers the development, sale, and distribution of perovskite-based products in the US
First Solar is investing in perovskite R&D and plans to operationalize a larger pilot line in Ohio
US-based solar PV manufacturer First Solar has entered into a patent licensing agreement with its compatriot CubicPV for perovskite solar technology, as part of its efforts to advance the technology within its portfolio.
Under the non-exclusive patent licensing agreement signed, First Solar gains rights to CubicPV’s issued and pending US patents covering perovskite solar technology. CubicPV says it uses proprietary perovskite chemistry that creates an ultra-thin top cell to be used with a silicon cell in a tandem configuration.
At one point, CubicPV planned to build a 10 GW solar wafer manufacturing facility in the US, but shelved the plans, citing falling wafer prices and high construction costs. It then focused on bringing its silicon perovskite tandem solar modules to the market (see CubicPV Shelves 10 GW US Solar Wafer Manufacturing Plans).
For First Solar, this patent licensing deal ‘further clears the path’ for it to continue developing PV devices built with perovskite semiconductors for the US utility-scale, commercial and industrial (C&I), and residential markets. It will also apply to the domestic sales and distribution of these products.
Earlier this year, in February 2026, First Solar announced a patent licensing agreement with Oxford PV, securing access to the latter’s existing issued, pending, and potential manufacturing patents and distribution of solar PV products using perovskite semiconductors for various applications in the US market (see First Solar 2025 Sales hit $5.2B, Signs Perovskite Licensing Deal).
First Solar says it has invested over $2 billion in thin-film R&D, including perovskite technology. It has set up a small-format perovskite module development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio campus and is building a larger pilot line, equivalent to its Series 6 modules. The latter will be operational in H1 2027.
Calling perovskite a technology with real disruptive potential, First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said, “Commercializing the next generation of PV takes two things. It takes the technology development and manufacturing scaling work our R&D teams are focused on, and it takes freedom to operate, which is what this agreement helps secure.”
First Solar is currently the world’s ‘largest’ thin film producer and solar manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere. By the end of 2027, it expects to have approximately 17 GW of US module manufacturing capacity.