M&A moves

Solar company acquires Houston manufacturer to expand production capacity, meet growing demand

Included in the deal, is the newly leased facility that spans 567,140 square feet and can accommodate 2.5 gigawatts of solar module manufacturing capacity. Photo via Pixabay

Solar solution company TOYO Solar announced it has agreed to acquire 100 percent of membership interests in Houston area’s Solar Plus Technology Texas LLC.

Included in the deal, is the newly leased facility that spans 567,140 square feet and can accommodate 2.5 gigawatts of solar module manufacturing capacity. The goal is to expand it to 6.5 gigawatts by 2029. TOYO Solar LLC will make a capital contribution of $19.96 million to TOYO Solar LLC.

"By acquiring Solar Plus, we will accelerate our development and leverage our team's proven manufacturing excellence, as well as the extensively established customer relationships and the brand of our sister company, Vietnam Sunergy, a Tier 1 Bloomberg NEF solar manufacturer," Junsei Ryu, chairman and CEO of TOYO, says in a news release. "We are confident that our expansion in the U.S. will effectively deliver a comprehensive solar technology solution, addressing bottlenecks for developers, meeting local content requirements for U.S. solar projects, and enhancing TOYO's competitive advantage."

The factory construction of Phase 1 has been completed, and equipment will begin to arrive by early 2025.The facility's first 1 gigawatts production is expected to commence by mid-2025 with production capacity increasing to 2.5 gigawatts by the end of 2025 according to the company.

As the demand for American-made solar panels continues amid grid reliability issues in Texas, TOYO hopes it can help with its sustainable energy solutions after having success in Vietnam and Ethiopia.

"Our strategy is to supply end customers with solar solutions that are technologically advanced, highly reliable, and cost competitive,” Ryu says in the release. “We are committed to building a robust global solar supply chain structure that efficiently and competitively serves the U.S. market and other regions, adapting to a dynamic policy environment.”

Trending News

A View From HETI

Uber's robotaxis will ride into Houston in 2027 Photo courtesy of Uber

More autonomous vehicles are expected to hit the roads in Houston next year.

Ridesharing giant Uber announced that it plans to roll out its premium robotaxi service in the Bayou City in mid-2027. Houston will be Uber’s second planned market for the program, following the San Francisco Bay Area, where the program is expected to be rolled out later this year.

Uber, Nuro and Lucid Group will bring the robotaxi program to Houston with more markets planned for the future. Currently, Nuro is conducting autonomous on-road testing with safety operators in Houston. Testing includes simulation, closed-course testing and supervised public-road testing.

“Houston is a city Nuro knows well, and we’re excited to help bring this robotaxi service to the city through our partnership with Uber and Lucid,” Andrew Chapin, chief operating officer at Nuro, said in a news release. “Houston’s large, complex metro area is an ideal market for demonstrating how Nuro’s universal autonomy platform can generalize across different geographies and operating environments. We look forward to continued engagement with the community as we prepare to launch service in 2027.”

The fleet of 100 vehicles across California and Texas will feature Lucid Gravity EVs and future Lucid Midsize vehicles equipped with Nuro Driver technology, Nuro’s Level 4 universal autonomy platform, plus a redundant sensor suite with cameras, lidar, radar and a roof-mounted halo.

The vehicles will be owned and operated by Uber and its fleet partners and made available to riders through the Uber network, according to the company.

In addition to the fleet of autonomous vehicles, Uber also announced that it has secured a 50,000-square-foot depot facility and dedicated charging pitstop in Houston. The facility will allow Uber and its partners to control vehicle maintenance, repairs, charging, cleaning, and day-to-day operations.

“Houston marks an important next step in our partnership with Lucid and Nuro as we expand autonomous mobility to more riders throughout the world,” Sarfraz Maredia, global head of autonomous mobility & delivery at Uber, added in the release. “Together, we’re combining best-in-class vehicle and autonomy technology with Uber’s scale, fleet operations expertise, and infrastructure capabilities to build a service that can grow across dozens of markets in the years ahead.”

Waymo launched its autonomous vehicle program in Houston in February.

The company later suspended its driverless car services in Houston, other major Texas cities, and Atlanta, after one of its vehicles was stranded by flooding during heavy rains. However, according to the Houston Chronicle, the fleet has resumed activity in Houston and is fully active.

---

This article originally appeared on InnovationMap.com.

Trending News