Heliene, Premier Energies to Partner on Domestic Solar Cell Manufacturing

Heliene and India-based Premier Energies are planning a joint venture to create a solar cell manufacturing facility in the U.S. 

Under the terms of the companies’ agreement, the facility would produce an annual aggregate capacity of 1 GW NTyp cells. Heliene currently sources solar cells from PEPPL’s Hyderabad facility for use in module manufacturing at its Mountain Iron, Minn., location.

“Premier Energies has been a valued partner of Heliene’s for many years now, and we share a commitment to providing the highest-quality, most-reliable products to solar customers,” says Martin Pochtaruk, CEO of Heliene. 

“With demand for U.S.-made modules and components growing, now is the perfect time to embark on the next phase of our partnership with this joint venture. Our new cell manufacturing facility will not only expand the footprint and impact of each of our companies, but it will also establish us as true leaders in the effort to friend-shore up the U.S. solar manufacturing supply chain.”

Under the terms of the venture, Heliene will contribute construction, project management, human resources, financial resource and management, facility operations, supply chain and logistics and regulatory expertise. 

Premier will contribute cell technology engineering and operational expertise in the manufacturing process of the cells, manufacturing equipment selection, financial resources, raw material vendor relationships and supply agreements management.