Freyr Battery (Freyr) announced the cancellation of its planned Giga America project that would have produced lithium-ion battery cells. This cancellation follows just days after KORE Power abandoned its plans for a US$1.0Bn battery cell factory in Arizona, highlighting continued troubles for the sector after the Trump administration froze federal disbursements for climate and energy spending.

Freyr, a Norway-based clean energy company, has announced the cancellation of its planned US$2.6Bn battery manufacturing facility in Coweta County, Georgia, USA, which would have enabled it to hold an increasing market share in the USA over the next decade. The project, which was initially unveiled in 2022 and would have been the company’s first US factory, was expected to produce approximately 34GWh of lithium-ion batteries in its first phase, with an estimated capital investment of US$1.7Bn, and create more than 700 jobs in the region. The lithium-ion battery cells were destined for both the electric vehicle and energy storage sectors and would have been manufactured using technology from Freyr’s semi-solid state US-based licensing partner, 24M.

Freyr currently has a gigafactory under construction in Norway named the Giga Arctic project, targeting a planned capacity of 29GWh. However, in November 2024, the company stated that it would attempt to sell its European business and terminate its licence for the technology used to manufacture cells amidst growing troubles in the sector.

In a move to combat these troubles, Freyr is pivoting from a European-focused battery manufacturing company to a US-focused solar company, shifting its headquarters to Austin, Texas, to align its workforce with its operations and strategy. Moreover, its Coweta site is being sold to an undisclosed party for US$50M (US$22.5M in net proceeds after state and local grant repayments) in a bid to recoup value and redirect funding.

Freyr now plans to build out an integrated US-owned and operated solar and battery storage manufacturing enterprise. In a sign of dedication to this strategic pivot, in December 2024, Freyr acquired a 5GW solar module manufacturing facility in Wilmer, Texas, from Chinese solar technology manufacturing heavyweight Trina Solar. The G1 solar module facility has been operational since November 2024 and is in the process of ramping up to full production.

Furthermore, the company is targeting the development of a 5GW solar cell facility. Construction is set to begin in Q2 2025, with the company effectively aiming for integrated cell and module production. With the first Freyr solar cells expected to be produced in H2 2026, the company will join a growing list of new solar cell producers aiming to take advantage of IRA tax credits. Domestic solar cell production ceased in 2020 when Panasonic ended its US solar manufacturing operations after exiting Tesla’s Gigafactory in Buffalo, New York, but recently resumed in Q3 2024 after Suniva recommenced production at its factory in Norcross, Georgia, which halted production in 2017.