What TALON PV does

TALON PV (Talon PV LLC) is a privately-held U.S. solar cell manufacturer headquartered in Austin, Texas, with a primary manufacturing site under development in Baytown, Texas and a wholly-owned research and commercialization subsidiary, Talon Technologies Germany, in Freiburg. The company designs and produces high-performance N-type TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) crystalline silicon solar cells using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) production technology, holding a licensing arrangement with First Solar for the foundational TOPCon patent (U.S. Patent No. 9,130,074). Its commercial positioning is as an independent cell producer serving multiple downstream U.S. module manufacturers, in contrast to vertically integrated captive module operations, and it identifies cell production as the segment of the PV value chain most critical to onshore in the United States.

The company's business model is B2B hardware sales: solar cells are sold directly to U.S. module manufacturers under strategic supply agreements, with pricing conducted on a quote-based enterprise basis and no public pricing disclosed. The current commercial pipeline is anchored by a supply agreement with SEG Solar for high-performance N-type cells starting Q1 2026, and supported upstream by a long-dated wafer supply agreement with NexWafe covering approximately 7 GW of EpiNex direct gas-to-wafer silicon through 2032. Strategic technology development is conducted jointly with Fraunhofer ISE and NEXUS GreenTech through the Freiburg subsidiary, bridging research and large-scale manufacturing. The company is also a member of the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade alongside First Solar, Qcells, and Mission Solar, an industry body whose trade actions have produced material anti-dumping duties on solar imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos and earlier Southeast Asia tariffs.

TALON PV is pre-revenue in the period covered by available data. The Baytown, Texas facility — representing an initial 4.8 GW of annual cell capacity — is under construction with operations targeted for early 2027, and management has publicly outlined a second 4.8 GW expansion to reach 9.6 GW total by the end of the decade. In October 2025, T1 Energy Inc., a U.S. solar module manufacturer building a $400–425 million cell fab in Austin, acquired a minority equity stake in TALON PV (undisclosed amount). Leadership is held by CEO Adam Tesanovich, and the company employs 501–1000 people consistent with a large-scale build-out phase.

Name

TALON PV

Legal name

Talon PV LLC

Website

https://talonpv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Talon PV is a private U.S. solar cell manufacturer building a 4.8 GW N-type TOPCon cell fab in Baytown, Texas, supplying U.S. module manufacturers as an independent cell producer rather than a captive module operator.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Solar Cell Manufacturing

SIC

Semiconductors & Related Devices (3674)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar PV Module & Cell Manufacturing (Crystalline, Thin-Film) (EUAMAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Solar Plant Components Supply & Manufacturing (Modules, Cells, Wafers, Mirrors, Heliostats) (EUACAGAK), Next-Gen Photovoltaics R&D (Perovskite, Tandem, Organic, BIPV Materials) (EUAMAOAA)

Keywords

• Crystalline silicon solar cells
• TOPCon solar cell manufacturing
• PVD production technology
• N-type solar cells
• Domestic solar cell supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Austin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Solar Cell Sales: Revenue generated from manufacturing and selling high-performance N-type TOPCon solar cells to module manufacturers. The company operates as an independent cell producer serving multiple customers rather than a captive module operation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

TALON PV manufactures N-type TOPCon crystalline silicon solar cells using advanced Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) production technology for sale to solar module manufacturers. The company operates as an independent cell producer serving multiple downstream customers, with initial 4.8 GW of capacity planned at its Baytown, Texas facility (operational by early 2027) and a planned second 4.8 GW expansion targeting 9.6 GW of total capacity. It also operates a pilot-scale commercialization platform in Freiburg, Germany (TALON Technologies Germany) with Fraunhofer ISE and NEXUS GreenTech.

Product overview

TALON PV is a U.S.-based independent solar cell manufacturer focused on N-type TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) technology. The company operates as an independent cell producer serving multiple customers rather than a captive module operation, utilizing advanced Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) production technology. The core product is N-Type TOPCon Solar Cells, supported by TALON Technologies Germany in Freiburg for research and commercialization. Strategic wafer supply partnerships with NexWafe (approximately 7GW through 2032) and cell supply agreements with SEG Solar form the key business relationships. The company is developing manufacturing facilities in Texas (initial 4.8 GW in Baytown, with planned second 4.8 GW expansion targeting 9.6 GW total capacity).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• N-Type TOPCon Solar Cells High-performance crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells using N-type TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) cell architecture, produced with proprietary PVD-based production technology and made available to multiple solar module manufacturers as an independent cell producer (rather than as a captive module operation).

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.8 GW initial capacity, scaling to 9.6 GW by decade's end
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NexWafecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Strategic partnership and wafer supply agreement for NexWafe's EpiNex direct gas-to-wafer silicon wafers. Collaboration involves approximately 7 gigawatts of wafers initially through 2032, with plans for production scaling from NexWafe's German pilot facility to the U.S. Technical collaboration to improve cell performance in both the U.S. and Germany.
• SEG SolarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2025Strategic partnership where Talon supplies high-performance N-type solar cells to SEG Solar starting in Q1 2026. The partnership significantly increases domestic content in SEG's PV modules, enabling full 'Made in America' status. Talon's facility expected to have 4GW annual capacity. Both companies are U.S.-based manufacturers committed to advancing domestic solar production capacity.
• Fraunhofer ISEcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology development partnership through Talon Technologies Germany subsidiary in Freiburg. Fraunhofer ISE collaborates on technology development bridging research and large-scale manufacturing for TOPCon solar cells.
• NEXUS GreenTechcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology development partnership through Talon Technologies Germany subsidiary in Freiburg. Partnership supports PVD-based production technology development and TOPCon cell commercialization.
• First SolarcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerLicensing agreement for TOPCon patent technology (U.S. Patent No. 9,130,074). Talon PV established domestic cell manufacturing operation near Houston under this licensing arrangement. First Solar's Section 337 patent litigation leverages this licensing relationship.
• Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade (AASMT)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry alliance including First Solar, Qcells, Talon PV, and Mission Solar. The alliance filed petitions leading to preliminary anti-dumping duties on solar imports from India (123.04%), Indonesia (35.17%), and Laos (22.46%). Previously succeeded in winning tariffs on imports from Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. Collective advocacy for domestic solar manufacturing trade policy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• T1 Energy: U.S. solar module manufacturer with a 5 GW Dallas facility and a $400-425M Austin cell fab under construction; minority owner of TALON PV as of October 2025. Direct peer because it is building its own c-Si cell capability in parallel, competing for the same domestic cell market.
• Hanwha Qcells: Largest non-Chinese c-Si cell and module manufacturer with a major U.S. manufacturing footprint (Georgia) and a co-member of AASMT. Direct peer because it competes for the same U.S. domestic content and 'Made in America' module customers as TALON.
• SEG Solar: U.S.-based solar module manufacturer and TALON PV's announced Q1 2026 N-type cell offtake partner. Direct peer/customer because it is both an offtake channel and a competing U.S. module assembler seeking 'Made in America' status.
• Mission Solar Energy: U.S.-headquartered c-Si module manufacturer and AASMT alliance co-member alongside TALON. Direct peer because it competes for domestic content solar supply contracts and operates in the same Texas/U.S. manufacturing ecosystem.
• First Solar: U.S.-headquartered thin-film (CdTe) module manufacturer that is also the licensor of the TOPCon patent (U.S. Patent 9,130,074) to TALON PV and a co-member of the AASMT alliance. Direct peer because it supplies U.S. cells/modules into the same 'Made in America' domestic content market and is the IP anchor for TALON's TOPCon process.

Broad incumbents

• LONGi Green Energy: World's largest c-Si wafer and cell producer and dominant incumbent across the global c-Si PV value chain. Broad incumbent whose international cell and module volumes set the cost benchmark that U.S. trade policy (anti-dumping duties) is designed to neutralize for domestic players like TALON.
• JinkoSolar: Top-tier global c-Si cell and module manufacturer with TOPCon products and large-scale fabs across Asia. Broad incumbent comparable on cell technology (TOPCon) but operates outside the U.S. domestic content niche TALON targets.
• Trina Solar: Global c-Si cell/module manufacturer with TOPCon roadmap and large Chinese fabs. Broad incumbent relevant for cell technology, cost benchmark, and as a likely subject of U.S. anti-dumping/anti-circumvention investigations that benefit TALON.
• Canadian Solar: Major global c-Si module/cell producer with manufacturing in Asia and U.S. project development arm (Recurrent Energy). Broad incumbent competing in U.S. module markets; one of the named Section 337 respondents alongside First Solar's IP enforcement.

Emerging players

• NexWafe: German direct gas-to-wafer (EpiNex) silicon wafer developer and TALON's ~7 GW wafer supply partner through 2032. Emerging player/partner because it supplies an upstream input to TALON's cell line and competes indirectly with conventional wafer suppliers (e.g., LONGi wafers).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TALON PV