Daniel Barcelo, CEO of emerging U.S. solar cell and module maker T1 Energy, outlined the company’s dual strategy to build domestic solar component manufacturing ecosystems and recruit local engineering talent during an interview with PV Tech at a Roth Capital Partners industry event.

As a newly scaled domestic PV manufacturer, T1 Energy aims to stimulate localized production of critical solar parts by providing long-term supply agreements to regional component manufacturers. These binding contracts can act as collateral to support suppliers’ financing for new production capacity expansion.

The firm recently launched a 5GW solar module manufacturing facility in Texas and plans to kick off TOPCon solar cell production at its Austin factory later this year. To cut reliance on imported parts, T1 has engaged with enterprises across the full solar component value chain over the past year, covering encapsulants, diodes, junction boxes and other core module accessories.

Barcelo shared that T1 is collaborating with existing suppliers and potential regional manufacturers, proposing mutually beneficial cooperation: local manufacturers can produce key solar components for T1, while guaranteed supply orders from T1 will lower financing barriers for their new production lines.

Beyond supply chain localization, Barcelo noted Austin was selected as the company’s headquarters for its abundant high-skilled engineering workforce, nurtured by decades of semiconductor, aerospace and tech industry development. The city hosts industrial ecosystems built by Tesla, SpaceX, Dell and historic U.S. space programs, providing a ready pool of technical talent for solar manufacturing operations.