ENERGY
Ebon Solar appears to abandon plans for $942M Albuquerque facility
The expansion, announced in August 2024, had touted some 900 jobs in Mesa del Sol
In August 2024, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Ebon Solar jointly that the company would invest $942 million to construct a factory in Albuquerque鈥檚 Mesa del Sol.
A news release sent out at the time said 900 workers would fabricate solar cells 鈥� semiconductors on the faces of solar panels that convert sunrays into electricity 鈥� in an 834,000-square-foot factory. The state, Bernalillo County and the city of Albuquerque offered the company various tax and economic development incentives.
鈥淲e have succeeded in making New Mexico a global center for advanced energy manufacturing,鈥� Lujan Grisham said in the announcement, dated Aug. 7, 2024.
But Ebon Solar, a subsidiary of Ebang International Holdings, will not build the factory.
Sara Mannal, a spokesperson for the city鈥檚 Economic Development Department, confirmed the project is not moving forward in an email this week. She used the initials for the U.S. Treasury Department鈥檚 Committee on Foreign Investment, chaired by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
鈥淯ltimately, federal policy constraints and CFIUS-related considerations prevented the company from establishing U.S. operations,鈥� Mannal said. 鈥淣o public funds were expended.鈥�
The Treasury Department did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The federal department says its Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. 鈥渋s an interagency committee authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the 近距离内射合集 States and certain real estate transactions by foreign persons, in order to determine the effect of such transactions on the national security of the 近距离内射合集 States.鈥�
The committee鈥檚 members include heads of nine U.S. departments and offices, including the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. The White House also participates in its proceedings.
Ebon鈥檚 parent company, Ebang International, is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol EBON. On Friday, its stock was trading at around $2.40 per share.
The company listed an address in Irvine, Texas, on Securities and Exchange Commission filed in April. Ebon told the Albuquerque Development Commission in 2024 that its parent company was headquartered in Singapore.
But, in other , Ebang International says it was incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
鈥淎s we have PRC operating subsidiaries,鈥� the company disclosed in an SEC filing, referring to the People鈥檚 Republic of China, 鈥渨e face various legal and operational risks and uncertainties related to doing business in China.鈥�
In the , an annual report for 2025, Ebang International disclosed that its securities may be prohibited from trade on a national exchange under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
Dong Hu is listed in Securities and Exchange Commission documents as the chairman, CEO and chief financial officer of Ebang International.
Ebon and Ebang have not responded to numerous requests for comment on the project made over the course of several weeks to numbers and email addresses in New Mexico, Hong Kong, New Jersey and Texas. On Friday, a man who answered the company鈥檚 Irvine, Texas, phone number 鈥� as listed on SEC records 鈥� said Hu could not talk because he was in a meeting.
Asked if he knew whether the Albuquerque project would move forward, the man responded that he was unsure.
鈥淚 will tell Dong that you called me and you called this number,鈥� the man said. 鈥淪o I would just ask him to send an email to you.鈥�
The state agreed to award in Local Economic Development Act funds to the project. But Chris Chaffin, spokesperson for Economic Development New Mexico, said the department 鈥渘ever actually gave them any money.鈥�
The city offered $1 million in LEDA money. But Mannal, the city鈥檚 spokesperson, said none of that was dispersed.
In order to receive LEDA funds, companies need to meet certain benchmarks on projects.
鈥淭he taxpayers are protected by the guardrails in place,鈥� Chaffin said. 鈥淣o money was given to them or needed to be clawed back.鈥�
Asked if state officials had concerns about the foreign investment, Chaffin responded, 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to answer because we鈥檙e concerned about the business climate at all times. But no one seems to have any specific concerns about that that they recall.鈥�
Bernalillo County in September 2024 announced that it offered the project an industrial revenue bond of up to $942 million for the project. Under such bonds, the government becomes the owner of the property in question, allowing the private company to collect rebates on property taxes. Such agreements also contain provisions requiring companies to show progress on projects and hire New Mexico workers.
J. Austin Munn, spokesperson for Bernalillo County, wrote in an email that the IRB transaction never closed, 鈥渁nd therefore no benefit was received or any clawback necessary.鈥�
鈥淲hile we are disappointed the project will not move forward, Albuquerque remains well-positioned to attract advanced energy manufacturing and will continue pursuing high-quality investment and job creation opportunities,鈥� Mannal, the city spokesperson, said.
Justin Horwath covers tech and energy for the Journal. He can be reached at jhorwath@abqjournal.com.
