FREYR Battery Q1 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• T1 Energy said construction of its G2_Austin solar cell plant remains on schedule, with first cell production still targeted for Q4 2026. The company is also working on a primarily debt-based financing package to cover the roughly $225 million in remaining Phase 1 capital expenditures.
• The company reported a record first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $9.1 million at its G1_Dallas module plant, with gross margin improving to 17% from the prior quarter. Management credited the margin gain to a shift toward cost-plus and fixed-margin contracts, even as throughput declined sequentially.
• Executives said 2026 results will be shaped by policy and supply-chain factors, including demand after the July safe-harbor deadline, the Commerce Department’s Section 232 investigation, and tax credit monetization. T1 reiterated that it sees U.S. polysilicon supply and domestic-content incentives as important long-term advantages.

T1 Energy executives said the company remains on schedule to begin first cell production at its G2_Austin solar cell facility in the fourth quarter of 2026, while reporting improved first-quarter profitability at its G1_Dallas module plant.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dan Barcelo said the company’s theme for the quarter was “taking care of business,” citing progress on construction, financing efforts and improved operations. Barcelo said construction of the 2.1-gigawatt Phase 1 of G2_Austin is advancing according to schedule, with concrete work beginning in April and first steel expected to be erected in May.

“With engineering and design work approaching completion, the pace of construction activity on site has picked up noticeably, and we remain on schedule to achieve first cell production in Q4 2026,” Barcelo said.

G2_Austin Construction Remains a Top Priority

Barcelo said T1 began ordering long-lead items for G2_Austin in the fourth quarter of 2025, including production line equipment, followed by the steel package order in the first quarter of 2026. He said the company finalized the full issue-for-construction package in May.

The company has been dealing with wet weather in Central Texas, including 10.3 inches of rain recorded in April by a National Weather Service gauge near Taylor, Texas, Barcelo said. Despite that, he said the company’s team, contractors and vendors have kept the project on schedule.

T1 is also pursuing financing for the remaining capital expenditure needs of G2_Austin Phase 1. Chief Financial Officer Evan Calio said the remaining CapEx is approximately $225 million and that the company is working toward announcing a comprehensive, primarily debt-based financing package in the second quarter of 2026.

Calio said T1 is engaged in diligence with a potential financing counterparty and believes the option offers “the most attractive combination of cost, structure, and quantum.” He added that the amount expected from the financing would be “more than sufficient” to fund remaining Phase 1 capital expenditures.

G1_Dallas Posts Record Adjusted EBITDA

Chief Operating Officer Jaime Gualy said T1’s focus at G1_Dallas in 2025 was completing the ramp-up of the 5-gigawatt module facility to capacity, which he said the company achieved in the fourth quarter. For 2026, the focus has shifted to profitability and EBITDA generation.

The company reported record quarterly adjusted EBITDA of $9.1 million in the first quarter. Calio said gross margins expanded by roughly 10 percentage points from the fourth-quarter run rate to 17% in the first quarter, despite lower throughput of 683 megawatts, equivalent to a 2.7-gigawatt run rate.

Gualy said production and sales were lower sequentially, as expected, following heavy spot-market module purchases in the fourth quarter before new FEOC restrictions took effect on Jan. 1. He said customers have been working down inventories by deploying equipment into projects ahead of a July safe-harboring deadline.

“As a result of these market dynamics, we expect that the second half of 2026 will be meaningfully busier both at G1 and in terms of outbound module shipments to our customers,” Gualy said.

Margins Supported by Contract Mix

Calio said the first-quarter margin improvement was primarily driven by a shift toward shipments under cost-plus and fixed-margin contracts, compared with a fourth quarter that was more heavily weighted toward merchant sales in a challenging price environment.

During the question-and-answer session, BTIG analyst Greg Lewis asked how investors should think about margins if merchant volumes are layered in later in the year. Calio said the 17% gross margin was a reasonable assumption at the low end of the company’s production guidance range, based on the same cost-plus and fixed-margin contracts in place for 2026. He said margins on higher production would depend on module pricing relative to costs.

T1 left its 2026 G1_Dallas production guidance unchanged at 3.1 gigawatts to 4.2 gigawatts. Calio said the company’s international cell procurement program is progressing and that T1 has completed non-FEOC diligence on four vendors to supply G1, with that number expected to rise.

Policy and Supply Chain Factors Remain Key Variables

Executives said several factors will influence 2026 sales and adjusted EBITDA, including customer demand and merchant module pricing after the July safe-harbor deadline, the potential impact of the Commerce Department’s Section 232 investigation into foreign-sourced polysilicon and derivatives, and the net outcome of an IEEPA tax refund.

Barcelo and Calio both highlighted T1’s supply contract with Hemlock Semiconductor for U.S.-made polysilicon. Calio said T1 believes the pricing implications of a potential Section 232 ruling represent a favorable “one-way option” for the company’s 2026 and future sales and margins.

In response to a question from Roth Capital Partners analyst Philip Shen, Barcelo said T1 has focused its policy message on the cost disadvantage of U.S. polysilicon and the need for a level playing field. He said the company has argued that a cents-per-watt approach across the product slate would work better than percentage-based measures.

Executives also discussed demand tied to hyperscalers and artificial intelligence. Barcelo said T1’s utility-scale developer customers continue to see strong demand for power, with solar and storage remaining key sources of new grid additions.

“All of the signals are that the market remains very robust,” Barcelo said, while emphasizing that the company’s immediate priority is to build and finance G2_Austin.

45X Monetization Expected Later in 2026

Needham & Company analyst Sean Milligan asked about the cadence for monetizing 45X tax credits. Calio said T1 expects to monetize the balance of 2025 credits in the near term. For 2026, he said the company had expected to find a tax equity partner in the second half of the year, noting that the market has slowed as participants await additional Treasury guidance.

Barcelo said T1’s broader objective is to become part of an integrated U.S. silicon-based supply chain that can produce high-domestic-content modules qualifying the company for Section 45X tax credits and customers for Section 48E domestic content bonuses.

The company identified three strategic priorities for 2026: funding and building G2_Austin, improving profitability at G1_Dallas and adding expertise in supply chain, sales and engineering. Barcelo said achieving those objectives would position T1 as a critical U.S. energy supplier.

About FREYR Battery NYSE: FREY

FREYR Battery is a sustainable battery technology and manufacturing company focused on producing high-performance lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems. The company aims to leverage low-carbon hydroelectric power in Norway and renewable energy sources in other regions to supply clean battery cells that meet the growing global demand for decarbonized transportation and grid resilience. FREYR’s product roadmap includes battery modules, packs and integrated storage solutions, designed to serve auto manufacturers, utilities and large-scale commercial energy users.

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, FREYR Battery was founded in 2018 with the mission of establishing cost-efficient, scalable gigafactories in strategic locations.

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