Key points
- T1 Energy wins a Commerce waiver on cell imports
- Why T1 Energy still needs foreign solar cells
- T1 Energy shares bounce off a 52-week low
T1 Energy (TE) has received a Commerce Department waiver to import up to 1.725 gigawatts of solar cells, helping supply its Dallas-area module plant while it builds a cell factory in Texas.
The waiver, announced Oct. 22, lets T1 import cells under a temporary rule limiting imports ahead of new polysilicon tariffs that start Dec. 4. T1's announcement does not say the waiver exempts the company from those tariffs.
T1 shares fell 2.9% on the day of the announcement and continued sliding into this week. They closed at $2.12 on Monday, Oct. 26, after touching a 52-week low of $2.08. The stock rebounded Tuesday, trading near $2.60 at 1:11 p.m. ET, up about 22% for the day. It remained about 80% below its June 4 high of $12.49.
T1 said it requested the waiver on an expedited basis to keep its G1_Dallas plant running and meet existing and expected contracted demand. The imported cells are intended to bridge the period while T1 builds the first 2.1-gigawatt phase of its G2_Austin cell factory in Rockdale, Texas. The company expects to produce its first cells there in the first quarter of 2027 and raised the factory's budget 20% in July.
The announcement doesn't say where the imported cells will come from, how long the waiver lasts, or whether Commerce had restricted T1's imports before it applied.
What the waiver covers
The waiver ties back to the Section 232 order on polysilicon that President Trump signed on Aug. 6. Starting Dec. 4, the order adds a 15% duty on polysilicon ingots and listed polysilicon products, and it sets minimum import prices that include $0.22 a watt for solar cells. TE swung sharply the day the White House announced the plan.
Until the tariff starts, Commerce is watching for companies that rush in imports early. Under a temporary rule in effect from Sept. 22 through Dec. 3, the department can bar an importer from bringing in more polysilicon products before Dec. 4 if its volumes run substantially above its historical averages. Companies that are barred or restricted can apply for a waiver, and the application asks how the imports support the company's own manufacturing.
The trade publication pv magazine USA said T1 appears to be the first company to publicly disclose receiving one.
Needham's target cut and the Evervolt payment
On Oct. 23, Needham cut its price target on T1 to $6 from $7 and kept a buy rating.
Two days earlier, T1 told the SEC it elected to issue 9,962,645 shares to Evervolt Green Energy to satisfy a $30 million installment due Oct. 15. The installment is part of the $133 million T1 agreed in July to pay for intellectual property it had been licensing from Evervolt, a Singapore company.
None of those shares have been issued yet. The two companies agreed to defer any share payment that would leave Evervolt owning more than 4.99% of T1's outstanding stock, and the filing says the Oct. 15 shares are deferred under that limit. It gives no date for issuing them. The filing also notes that 2,246,377 shares from the $25 million installment due Sept. 30 were deferred the same way. The last installment, $18 million, is scheduled for Oct. 30 under the July agreement.
"Since the Section 232 proclamation, customer demand for domestic solar cells and modules has meaningfully risen, and receiving a waiver positions T1 to meet this demand," Dan Barcelo, T1's chairman and CEO, said in the release.
