Silfab Solar Raises Capital For GW-Scale US Production Fab

• Silfab Solar says its 3^rd US manufacturing factory will have host 1 GW cell and an additional 1.2 GW module production capacity
• It has raised $125 million investment in its 2^nd round led by ARC to support these plans
• The company has not revealed the location of the new fab but says it will be operational in 2024

North American solar PV manufacturer Silfab Solar Inc is to venture into solar cell manufacturing in the US with its 3^rd production facility in the country planned to have 1 GW annual cell production and an additional 1.2 GW module assembly capacity, for which it has now raised $125 million.

While Silfab had announced the plans to set up its 3^rd manufacturing plant in the US in August 2021, it had not specified annual capacity. Now it says this cell and module capacity will be the initial annual target which will generate more than 800 new jobs.

"Investing in US-made solar cells is a critical component in a clean supply chain to support the manufacturing of solar panels for North American customers," stated Silfab that calls the move a strategic effort to further manage its supply chain.

Location of the 3^rd fab are still under wraps but the company targets commercial operations to begin in 2024.

Details of the US fab were released by the company after securing $125 million investment from private equity fund manager ARC Financial Corp (ARC) to fund the expansion of its made-in-America manufacturing. Capital raised includes co-investments from Manulife Financial Corporation, Ontario Power Generation Inc. Pension Plan, CF Private Equity and BDC Capital's Cleantech Practice.

Previously, ARC had raised an undisclosed amount from ARC for the new factory in September 2021 (see North America PV Snippets: EDFR, Silfab, BayWa).

"Silfab has grown more than 40% since ARC's initial support. We are thankful for our collaborative relationship with ARC and with the Biden administration and its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), both enabling us to accelerate our U.S. manufacturing strategy," said Silfab CEO Paolo Maccario.

The company currently operates Burlington and Bellingham PV module assembly plants in Washington, US with 400 MW annual capacity each according to industry sources.

With the IRA, the US is flooded with local solar manufacturing plans that move beyond solar modules alone and span entire value chain. In January 2023, Hanwha Solutions said it will develop 8.4 GW cumulative capacity of ingots, wafers, cells and modules in the US (see Hanwha Solutions Planning 8.4 GW US Production Capacity).

Enel North America too has announced plans to build 3 GW bifacial heterojunction cell and module fab in the country and scale it up to 6 GW annually (see More Europeans Heading To US For Solar Manufacturing).