First Solar, CubicPV Enter into US Patent Licensing Agreement

Agreement expands First Solar's freedom to operate as it progresses perovskite device development

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) ("First Solar" or "the Company") has signed a non-exclusive patent licensing agreement with CubicPV Inc. ("CubicPV"), granting First Solar access to CubicPV's issued and pending US patents covering perovskite solar technology. The license further clears the path for First Solar to continue its development of photovoltaic (PV) devices built with a perovskite semiconductor for the US utility-scale, commercial and industrial, and residential markets, and applies to sales and distribution of those products domestically. Other terms were not disclosed.

First Solar, the largest solar manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere and the world's largest thin film producer, has invested over $2 billion in thin film research and development, including its efforts to advance its perovskite program. The Company's investments include a new perovskite development line at its Perrysburg, Ohio, campus that produces small form-factor modules featuring a perovskite semiconductor, allowing First Solar to meet key internal milestones in its perovskite development program, including initial-stage efficiency, stability, and manufacturability objectives. It is also investing in a larger pilot line - capable of producing modules equivalent in dimensions to its Series 6 module - in Ohio, which is expected to reach operational readiness in the first half of 2027.

"Commercializing the next generation of PV takes two things. It takes the technology development and manufacturing scaling work our R&D teams are focused on, and it takes freedom to operate, which is what this agreement helps secure,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “We've always believed intellectual property rights should be respected, and this is consistent with that. This is a new semiconductor technology with real disruptive potential, and we want to get it right."

CubicPV has spent over a decade developing, testing and fielding perovskite technology to build a substantial body of foundational patents and intellectual property. Guided by a durability-first philosophy, the Company translates breakthrough science into demonstrated product performance, combining deep technical expertise with scale-able manufacturing processes to accelerate the commercialization of next generation solar technology.

Tim McCaffery, chief executive officer, CubicPV, said, “Access to intellectual property is vital as the industry begins commercializing perovskite and tandem technologies. First Solar's decision to license our IP is evidence of that shift and shows the relevance of our IP portfolio to the perovskite ecosystem.”

First Solar operates the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere, with five fully vertically integrated manufacturing facilities operating in Alabama, Louisiana, and Ohio. A sixth operating facility, in South Carolina, onshores final production processes for Series 6 Plus modules initiated by the Company’s international fleet. By the end of 2026, the Company expects to have invested over $5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019, and it expects approximately 17 gigawatts (GW) of US module manufacturing capacity by 2027.

About First Solar, Inc.

First Solar, Inc. is America's leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. The only US-headquartered company among the world's largest solar manufacturers, First Solar is focused on competitively and reliably enabling power generation needs with its advanced, uniquely American thin film PV technology. Developed at research and development (R&D) labs in California and Ohio, the Company's technology provides a competitive, high-performance, and responsibly produced alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV modules. For more information, please visit www.firstsolar.com.

About CubicPV

CubicPV is a US-based solar technology company developing high-performance perovskite technology for the next generation of solar. Built on a deep portfolio of foundational intellectual property and more than a decade of perovskite development, CubicPV takes a durability-first approach and combines advanced materials science, proprietary testing and manufacturing know-how to address one of the industry’s most critical barriers to commercialization. Headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts, the company is advancing perovskite tandem technology designed to deliver significantly more power from the same module footprint. For more information visit www.cubicpv.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains various “forward-looking statements” which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: (i) our expectation that this licensing agreement will pave the way for First Solar to continue to develop PV solar devices employing a perovskite semiconductor for potential applications in the US residential, commercial and industrial, and utility-scale markets; (ii) expectations that First Solar will have a total US nameplate capacity of approximately 17 GW in 2027; and (iii) our expectation that First Solar will have invested approximately $5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure from 2019 to 2027. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “forecast,” “foresee,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “goal,” “target,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “predict,” “continue” and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on First Solar’s current expectations and First Solar’s projections about future events and therefore speak only as of the date of this release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. First Solar undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause First Solar’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the results of our investigation of potential infringers, the costs and other impacts arising from any subsequent litigation, the results of which are unpredictable; the validity and scope of claims relating to the patents; the potential for companies to develop and patent technology designed to exclude our patented technology; and the matters discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of First Solar’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as supplemented by First Solar’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.