(Oct 15): Japan’s TOYO Co Ltd said on Monday (Oct 14) that it will build a two gigawatt (GW) solar cell factory in Ethiopia, that will provide duty-free components to a panel factory it is planning in the United States.

TOYO’s investment in Hawassa, Ethiopia, comes amid growing concerns over new US tariffs on solar panels from four Southeast Asian countries. TOYO currently produces its solar products in Vietnam, one of the nations subject to the duties.

“We are thrilled to embark on this ambitious project, which will enable us to rapidly scale up solar cell production to meet the needs of our planned module facility in the United States,” Junsei Ryu, chief executive officer of TOYO, said in a statement.

US trade officials set preliminary tariffs  this month, on solar cells and panels from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia. Manufacturers in those countries, US solar producers argue, receive generous subsidies that threaten US President Joe Biden's goal to boost domestic manufacturing of clean energy technologies.

TOYO’s new facility will be strategically situated in Ethiopia, which is exempt from a US tariff on popular double-sided panels. The company said last month that it was in the final stages of negotiations to build a two GW panel factory in the United States.

The estimated investment for the project is US$60 million (RM258 million), and the new facility is expected to generate up to 880 jobs. The factory is anticipated to start production by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

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