T1 Energy to Buy KORE Power for $32 Million, Entering Battery Storage and AI Data Center Markets
T1 Energy, the former FREYR, agreed to acquire battery storage provider KORE Power for about $32 million, adding 1,100 deployed projects.
Overview
T1 Energy has agreed to acquire battery energy storage provider KORE Power, a deal the U.S. solar and battery company said would give it an entry point into the energy storage and AI data center infrastructure markets, according to T1 Energy. The purchase enterprise value consists of approximately $32 million of equity, cash, and assumption of debt at anticipated closing in the second quarter of 2026, the company said.
T1 Energy is the former FREYR Battery, a company that began as a Norway-headquartered battery maker, as reported by Energy-Storage.News. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker TE, according to StockTitan. It now operates a solar panel assembly facility outside Dallas and is building a solar cell manufacturing facility near Austin, Texas, according to Solar Power World.
The Deal
The acquisition centers on KORE Power’s NRI division, which specializes in the design, delivery, installation, and operation of utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), according to Energy-Storage.News. The NRI team has deployed about 1,100 BESS projects worldwide and has provided solutions to the U.S. Government, National Labs, utilities, developers, and other industrial customers for over 50 years, T1 Energy said. T1 plans to rebrand KORE Power as T1 NRI following the expected close of the transaction, according to Energy-Storage.News.
Beyond the headline consideration, the agreement includes a total potential $9.6 million equity-based earn-out for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, according to T1 Energy. The company expects the transaction will generate positive EBITDA in 2026 and contribute approximately $15 million to $20 million of EBITDA in 2027, it said.
What the Companies Said
Dan Barcelo, Chairman and CEO of T1 Energy, framed the deal as an extension of the company’s domestic supply-chain strategy. “We’re excited to welcome the NRI team to T1. They possess extraordinary capability, knowledge, and customer relationships in the energy storage and power infrastructure markets. We believe that NRI’s track record, established customer relationships, and strategic focus on battery energy storage systems will be complementary to T1’s mission of building domestic solar and battery supply chains to invigorate America with scalable, reliable, and low cost energy,” he said, according to T1 Energy.
Barcelo also pointed to the utility-scale market as the focus of the combination, telling Energy-Storage.News, “We’re very focused on serving the utility scale developers, and with NRI, we feel that we can do that better.”
Jay Bellows, President and CEO of KORE Power, said the merger would broaden what the combined company can offer customers. “The combination with T1 Energy is expected to provide customers with a one-stop solution for generation, storage, system design, and ongoing operations. We’re thrilled to be joining T1, which shares our commitment to building a secure, domestic energy supply chain,” he said, according to T1 Energy.
Market Context
T1 tied the acquisition to expected growth in grid-scale storage demand. The installed base of 45 GWh of utility-scale BESS in the U.S. is projected to grow to 143 GWh in 2035, according to T1 Energy. The company framed the deal as a way to reach the energy storage and AI data center infrastructure markets through an expanded customer base for solar and storage solutions, StockTitan reported.
What We Don’t Know
The announced figures describe expectations rather than finalized results. The transaction had not closed as of the announcement, with the companies citing an anticipated close in the second quarter of 2026, according to T1 Energy. The EBITDA contribution and the $9.6 million earn-out are stated as company projections tied to future performance, not guaranteed outcomes. The announcement did not break out how much of the $32 million enterprise value is equity versus cash versus assumed debt.