Recently, U.S. PV cell manufacturer ES Foundry officially commenced operations at its manufacturing plant in South Carolina.
Located within the Fujifilm campus, the plant produces crystalline bifacial passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells, with an initial annual capacity of 1GW in Phase I. As the company advances to Phase II, annual production will soar to 3GW by the third quarter of 2025.
Notably, ES Foundry has chosen to produce PERC cells at a time when the PV mainstream is shifting towards TOPCon products. The company stated, “Unlike emerging technologies facing scalability and durability challenges, PERC cells offer a mature and cost-effective solution for developers/asset owners, tax equity providers, and module manufacturers.”
Alex Zhu, CEO and founder of ES Foundry, noted that all chemicals and gases required by ES Foundry are sourced domestically in the U.S. However, silicon wafers are imported from Southeast Asia, as the U.S. lacks a silicon wafer manufacturing industry. Alex Zhu also mentioned that anticipated tariff policies will affect ES Foundry’s production costs, as silicon wafers from Southeast Asia are already low-priced, leaving no profit margin to offset tariffs.
