Silicon Wafer Manufacturer CubicPV said it has been spurred by Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to build 10 GW of conventional mono-wafer capacity in the United States, which will bridge the gap in the solar value chain in the country.

“The IRA represents a titanic shift in the global solar landscape, and the U.S. is poised to become the world’s most competitive location to manufacture solar. We’re excited to have a role in the U.S. manufacturing renaissance while accelerating our business plan and supporting the development of our next-generation tandem module technology,” said CubicPV’s CEO, Frank van Mierlo.

Further, the company said it has raised $26 million in a Series B financing round to bolster its research and development (R&D) activities in tandem module technology.

The round was led by private equity fund manager Synergy Capital and SCG Cleanergy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SCG, while other lead investors included Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Hunt Energy Enterprises.

The company expects to finalize a location on the proposed mono-wafer manufacturing facility by the first quarter of 2023. Cubic PV claims to be the only high-volume wafer-producing company in the U.S.

While the construction would tentatively be complete by 2024, CubicPV said that the new facility would be fully ramped in 2025.

Deemed to be the first-of-its-kind facility of such a scale in the U.S., CubicPV said it would create 1,500 new direct jobs to meet the anticipated rise in demand for wafers produced in the country.

Recently, Indian module manufacturer Waaree Energies and CubicPV entered into a multi-year supply agreement in which CubicPV will supply 1 GW of silicon cells to Waaree annually. The cells will feature wafers made with CubicPV’s technology, which produces wafers directly from a molten bath of silicon.

Last year, CubicPV bid for 1 GW capacity in Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency’s tender to set up manufacturing capacities for vertically-integrated high-efficiency solar modules under the Production-Linked Incentive program.