Morning everyone. Thank you for your interest in Meyer Burger and participation in today's webcast. I would like to give you more information around the ad hoc press release that we have sent out this morning, all the background of the investment case in Meyer Burger, our current activities, and of course also any other question that you have. I will try to do my level best to answer this. So let me guide you through some information first. We have today announced that we will shortly invite to an EGM taking place on March 18th. And the board of directors is asking shareholders to approve a capital measure to target CHF 200 million minimum, maximum CHF 250 million.
On the offer structure, subscription price and ratio will be announced shortly before the EGM on the 18th of March. It will be an offering with subscription rights. The rights will trade on the SIX, and it's a public offering only outside the U.S., and no offerings in Japan, Australia, and Canada. So the expected timeline that goes along with it is the publication of our audited fiscal year results 2023, as already communicated on March the 14th, the extraordinary general meeting, as already said on the 18th of March, and then the following subscription periods between the 20th and the 28th of March. We did achieve already an investor commitment.
Meyer Burger's largest shareholder Sentis Capital, with approximately 10% shareholding, intends to invest up to CHF 50 million, so beyond their rights execution, in this and participate in this capital measure, by exercising all their subscription rights and purchasing shares for which subscription rights have not been exercised. The members of the company's board of directors and the executive management do also intend to participate and are strongly, of course, standing behind this measure. The use of proceeds, of course, primarily to finance our completion of the U.S. PV solar cell and module manufacturing, as this is the underlying business case that I will speak to in a second.
We see a strong potential for Meyer Burger in the United States and have also with today's decision, or communicated decision, that we have now started to end the bleeding finally in Europe under the current situation, without any industry policy measures in place yet. In that context, of course, also focus even stronger on our very profitable US business. Just to reiterate our key figures of 2023. So we communicated this already and also the reasoning behind the very disappointing result of last year caused by these massive market distortions in Europe that we are now responding to by initiating the closure of the Freiberg solar module plant. And we are very consequently implementing our plan that we had communicated on January the 17th.
So the construction of our 2-gigawatt U.S. cell and module factory is, of course, subject to the financing, but up to so far as we have already started it, as you know, we are progressing very well with our module facility and are expecting to be able to start up the line as communicated. Our cash position year-end stood at CHF 150 million. Of course, CapEx spending is the major cash outflow for the time being, and therefore, we have communicated already on the 17th that we have this funding gap that we are now planning to close with the measures announced. Just to remind everyone of the business case that is in place.
Unlike Europe, the U.S. has done very straightforward measures or implemented them from an industry policy point of view in order to not only protect the U.S. market from behaviors of other market participants, which are unfair, by imposing tariffs, by imposing measures against forced labor, and of course, above and beyond the Inflation Reduction Act, but also local incentive schemes that Meyer Burger can greatly benefit from in the areas we are producing or planning to produce modules. Unlike foreseen by some criticizing people on the IRA, the IRA does great in the solar sector. So we see, post-IRA implementation, as you can see on the left side here, an expected massive growth of the solar market in the U.S. and primarily in the utility scale business.
Utility scale, as you know, is something that we had in the focus from day one in the U.S., and I think this has been a very, very important strategic decision that the company took early on to enter these long-term commitments with our currently three customers, and others, others, being in talks with us on similar concepts for the uptake. And what makes Meyer Burger so unique, of course, on the one hand, the technology and the product, on the other hand, of course, also the fact that we are a trustful and reliable partner to our customers. Of course, you can also rest assured that we are in talks with these customers.
They also understand the challenging situation of Meyer Burger, and we are receiving their full support in order to implement everything as planned as they see the long-term potential with us in the agreed-upon partnerships. So, the expectation of Meyer Burger is on the one hand, speaking a bit about the political setup, it's unlikely that, under a new government, the situation will change. You know, things like that, the IRA might be reversed is deemed unlikely from all the talks we are having in the U.S. Even the opposite is true with all the currently discussed measures to make sure that precious American taxpayers' money is not going to China. There are discussions underway to exclude Chinese companies more from accessing these incentives.
This gives Meyer Burger another spin, in our opinion, another positive spin to become one of the leaders in the U.S. business, when it comes to the local manufacturing with a highly performing product. That being said, what we are expecting is that the company is gonna produce once up and running, in our Goodyear facility about 10,000 modules per day, exceeding the Freiberg capacities, the current Freiberg capacities by far. Also for the cell line with more than 1 million, 1.4 million solar cells per day, we believe we are one of the strongest solar manufacturers in the United States. Again, I want to reemphasize what makes us so unique.
If you look around in the U.S. and try to find companies that are also intending to bring solar cell manufacturing to the country, then you will not find that many companies. There's, in fact, currently one project underway, which is Hanwha, Hanwha's integrated factory, and it's Meyer Burger. Other projects have been announced, but we'll see if they will be executed under the currently discussed policy terms, with, you know, a potential exclusion of Chinese companies holding more than 10% shareholdings in the company, from accessing IRA money. So the U.S., long story short, seems to be or is very, very strict on making sure that this success story under the IRA continues in order to give the country the energy sovereignty it needs, along the anticipated growth of the solar sector.
So we are we are very, very confident that Meyer Burger can also, mid- and long-term, benefit from this setup in the U.S. That being said, our expectation for U.S. midterm, that means, of course, funding in place and then factories ramped up, we expect an EBITDA in the U.S. of around $250 million per annum. We believe that's achievable. Why do we believe it's achievable? Because if you would have talked with us four years ago when Meyer Burger was just communicating a story and convincing the markets, we had no factories. We had, of course, we had experience from being a pioneer in solar and decades of experience, but we did not have the knowledge from setting up factories in for our own purposes. So now we have achieved it. We have highly performing factories up and running in Germany.
Yes, it's a pity that at this point in time when things are up and running greatly that we are now in this process to preparing the closed down of the module factory. But if we look ahead and look into what's most promising for us and most attractive, then of course the knowledge and the know-how achieved remains available in the company and is existing, and we are already in the process to transfer this to the US so that the ramp-up of the line can go very smoothly, and giving us the ability to supply our customers with the product they have ordered. Also, what I want to mention, the business case in the US is also attractive for us without the IRA, given the fact that the entire market in the US is much more healthy.
Also in terms of the competitive environment, it's accessible. It's a fair competition, and we believe Meyer Burger has no problem in competing in a fair under fair market conditions, and they are given in the U.S. Also a few words about what we had discussed in January that Meyer Burger is in talks with other parties on a model that we would call a partnership business model, including ideas like collaborations in the market with industrial partners. So these discussions are ongoing. They have not stopped, and we are continuing them very intensively. So what it can result in is, on the one hand, that ongoing funding, anticipated funding of, for instance, more capacities, also including capacities, can be eased by joining forces here.
Second, also, the partnership model could include licensing income that flows to Meyer Burger. And what is absolutely a prerequisite for us is we are not stopping our strategic approach of a captive business model. So we continue to be convinced that our one of the unique, one of or what's also defined as the uniqueness of the company is our intellectual property. It's our technology ability also for upcoming generations of solar cells. And this would retain in Meyer Burger's ownership. On the details of how do we want to close our financing gap. So we did elaborate on this on this already in January, where we very, very transparently explained what the gap is.
And again, to explain the gap a bit from a historical point of view, when Meyer Burger decided very wisely, in our opinion, to shift the solar cell expansion from Germany to the U.S., we did say that this project would require some funding that needs to be achieved. So we did at the time already talk about a DOE loan. We also mentioned that we have the option for a part monetization of the 45X advanced manufacturing tax credit. So to remind you again about the number, it's a total of $1.4 billion that Meyer Burger is eligible to achieve via the AMTCs. And the idea here is to take a portion of it. I will speak about it in a second and use it upfront for the funding.
So in addition to the CHF 200 million up to CHF 250 million rights issue we are pursuing now, the debt financing via the US Department of Energy is in the range of $200 million-$250 million. And the 45X monetization, we are in discussions with a larger bank in the U.S. We have received a term sheet here that indicates the terms with $300 million up to $300 million. And very important for us and also a strong signal, we have been able to achieve an export credit guarantee from the German government, Euler Hermes for an export agency for an export financing in the amount of up to $95 million. So this is now in the making to be finally concluded in a loan agreement.
But the terms are clear, and this export credit guarantee is secure. This is a strong achievement and also a strong commitment. It goes without saying that this can also be seen as a government support from the German government. In that case, of course, also to help the company to stabilize its current situation and to make sure that we have enough funding in place. So you might ask now why all of this money. So we said it's a CHF 450 million gap we have to close. So CHF 200 million-250 million in equity, of course. Achieving the debt financing also requires also a strong equity ratio. And we also have very purposefully pursued these three options for the debt financing. And we do not need the CHF 450 million in one shot. So that's also clear.
So the CapEx spending is a process that goes way into 2025. So it does not need to be here immediately, and it can come in step by step. But we also have the option to optimize the debt financing structure by, you know, focusing more on one instrument or lowering the volume in another instrument. So we have options. That's the very clear and strong message that I want to send with the CHF 95 million loan, to be agreed upon in current terms of the terms behind and now turning this into the definitive agreements. And also, for the U.S. Department of Energy project, we have successfully completed the phase one application, and we were formally invited by the DOE to enter into the next phase that will then finally decide.
And what I also can mention about the DOE loan is, you can imagine under the Inflation Reduction Act, the Department of Energy is receiving tons of applications for loans to be achieved via this instrument that is explicitly structured to help companies setting up activities and manufacturing under the IRA in the respective segments. And, of course, the Department of Energy is also looking into what's most strategic among these projects. So, there is a selection process taking place before you even enter it. And we have entered it. As I said, we have successfully completed part one. And with this very formal invitation into the next phase, which will then bring the final decision, that's a very strong signal from the U.S. government that they are supportive here. They want solar cell manufacturing. And I already mentioned it.
This is a prerequisite in the U.S. in order to make sure the energy independence is created in these various segments, in our case, in solar. It's not enough just to produce modules from Chinese components. The U.S. is pursuing a strategy. The U.S. government is pursuing a strategy to bring in all the segments of the supply chain. I want to remind you that one of the major reasons why we decided last year and summer to move our solar cell expansion project to the U.S. was that the U.S. Department of the Treasury has come forward with a new scheme that the investment tax credits that our customers receive do need to include the solar cell from a certain point in time.
And there's even more development, as we speak, to bring in to the ITC more components, which have to be then locally made. Not immediately. There are transitional periods, of course, underlaid in order to make sure that the energy transition in the U.S. doesn't stop. But it's perfectly aligned with our plans to bring solar cell manufacturing to the States now. And that's why we are so much welcomed by the U.S. Department of Energy. So on the 45X, very quickly, this is an instrument, I think. It is also very attractive to us, even though it's, of course, more expensive than a subsidized loan from the Department of Energy. But here, we have a good reason to believe that such an instrument could be pulled in in terms of the timing expected to achieve it.
So that's why we are pursuing this avenue and are very happy to report that we are making good progress there. And again, the debt stack, the potential debt financing stack is larger than what we actually need, which gives us the ability to respond to any timing challenges, and to make sure that we can complete the project in order to achieve the profitability in the U.S. on time. Last slide before, I'm very happy to answer your questions. Just to summarize the investment case, we play as Meyer Burger a very important role in this U.S. growth of domestic solar manufacturing under the IRA.
I can only reemphasize how much Meyer Burger is welcomed in the U.S. by the DOE, by our customers, by potentially more customers, which appreciate our initiatives and support us strongly, mid and long term. We want to play that role with the current situation in Europe. We also strongly believe that this focus on the U.S. is absolutely key. Management stands behind it very strongly. The team stands behind it very strongly. We want to make it a success.
Despite the challenges we are facing, given the European market distortions, we are strongly convinced, as management and, of course, also board of directors, that our very early decisions to enter these long-term contracts with our offtake partners, plus making quick decisions when we saw that the European business is not yet secured given the slow move of politics, when we decided, "Let's stop the solar cell manufacturing project in Europe and move it to the U.S. immediately," we believe this has been an ultra-wise decision. And now we are suggesting to you the instruments that are needed to complete this success story for us. We are, as of today, the only Western supplier of a high-tech solar cell, our heterojunction cell and module, that is engaging aggressively in the U.S. We own the IP.
We have more technologies in the making with our interdigitated back contact solar cell technology. We have completed all the work to prepare the product launch in the U.S. for our customers with DESRI starting the supplies first in this year. We have the buy-in from our uptakers, in particular, the largest with DESRI. So this is more than just a customer relationship. It is an ultra-strong partnership. And also DESRI understands and knows, of course, also from media, and from talks, our situation and is super supportive and can't wait to receive the modules from us. It turns into something highly profitable. And I spoke about the ongoing policy support in the U.S.
So we have, despite the fact that, you know, a new government might review the situation under the IRA and may adjust here and there in order to make it more effective. But we do not see a risk that the new incoming government would reverse the IRA or move away from this policy support. It's way too successful in the U.S. And the strong will to grow a domestic solar industry that is giving the US independence from China is so strong that we believe we can operate in this environment very successfully. We have this upside with the partnership discussions ongoing. We expect discussions to continue also in the upcoming weeks and months. And I'm also pretty excited about it. And we will see what we can communicate to the market on this.
I also do believe that with what we have already announced on the 17th and what we are presenting today, that we not only have an attractive investor case here on the equity side, but that we can also provide the transparency and also the surety about our additional financing options. A few words on Europe before I'm closing here. As you know, we have been communicating on the 17th of January that, if there's no decision made by the second half of February, the Meyer Burger is going to act also in favor of our investors. It's important that you understand our decisions and that you also have the surety and the strong commitment that the Meyer Burger management and the board is very actively and aggressively stopping the bleeding in Europe. This is what we do.
So we have, in the absence of a political decision made today, announced that we are initiating the closing process for Europe. This means that we are ramping down our facility in Freiberg, not in Thalheim. Solar cell manufacturing continues, to supply the solar cells for the ramp-up in the U.S. But Freiberg is prepared to shut down. We will stop production within the first half in March. There is a window of opportunity still for politics to act. As you may have followed the discussions, this week, unfortunately, the coalition in Germany could not find common ground on a solution for the entire solar sector. Nevertheless, there are negotiations ongoing. There is a proposal on the table that is ready to be implemented.
It would help the industry entirely, and it would, of course, also provide a business case for Europe. But what I want to strongly emphasize and repeat is we are not in a situation anymore that we are waiting and then making a decision. We have made a decision. And it's now on politics to decide whether or not this, this stop of manufacturing of the Meyer Burger module facility is temporarily only or if it's forever. So but what I'm not saying and what we have not communicated today in the ad hoc is that we are now waiting for another feedback, and then we decide, "No, we have decided," and it's now on politicians and on the coalition in Germany to decide whether or not this is their strategy to cement 100% dependence from China and go a different path than the United States.
On a positive note, on the political environment, what has changed since we presented last time on the 17th of January or communicated last time is that the European Net Zero Industry Act has been agreed upon in terms of the content a couple of weeks ago in one of the last trial so-called trilogue process between the EU Commission, the Parliament, and the Council. The Net Zero Industry Act is on its way to be turned into a European law. It, in our expectation, it's going to happen in this quarter. So in March, we could have it. This is quite an achievement as the entire resilience topic that is under debate in Germany has its roots in the Net Zero Industry Act. So it's nothing that Meyer Burger came up with necessarily.
This is a proposal by the European Commission, and it was just shaped by the solar industry to work in the European market. So long story short, there is still a window of opportunity, but it's not such that we are delaying our decision to close the Freiberg site. It has been decided, and it can only be stopped now if politicians move before, very important now, before the EGM and at the date of our fiscal year presentation, by the date of our fiscal year presentation on March the 14th. If we are not hearing anything there, we will not revoke our decision, and the factory will be shut down. People will be laid off. And we can stop the bleeding and protect the company from further damage. So here, I'm going to stop, and very happy to answer your questions.
Thank you so much.
The first question comes from Konstantin Hesse.
Thank you very much. Good morning. Can you hear me? Loud and clear. Perfect. Going to a quick one. So I've got a few questions, but let's go one by one. One of them is so with regards to Germany, so the Greens, the SPD, they're fine. The FDP is, of course, the party that is pushing back. What exactly do they want? What are the concessions that they are asking for? Is there any clarity on that? So first of all, Meyer Burger doesn't sit at the table, as you can imagine. So this is a discussion, which is held between the coalition parties. So I can only quote from what is in the media and what we are where we have some information.
So there is, according to our information, there is, in general, an understanding that the solar industry is of strategic interest. I think there are only very few people that would tell you, "Well, we don't need it, and it's not a problem to be fully depending on China." So what's obviously happening is, unfortunately, of course, now for a very long time since this is under debate for a couple of months, and it's also disrespectful, I would say, in regards to, you know, the responses the industry needs because it's not a Meyer Burger problem. It affects everyone producing in Europe. So they know it.
So what is obviously happening in the background is to find a consensus on, you know, how this is, how is this going to be financed, how is this working long-term. And what we are sensing is that there is willingness to resolve it. They have not been able to do this this week, but I think this is pretty much it. So how does it, how does it affect the government's budget? The answer here is there are attempts to make it wash so that it's not costing anything. There are these approaches. And signals that we are receiving from all parties still sound optimistic. But again, you know, we as a company, we cannot use hope as a strategy. That's why we have decided and communicated it today.
If a compromise is being found within the next, let's say, two and a half weeks, there is still a chance for the government to make a temporary closing, or to make a permanent closing.
Yeah. Okay. That's understood. Then the other one is quickly on the German export credit facility. So you said that Germany approved it, but it still has to go through a process at a commercial bank level. But I would assume that's only bureaucracy, and there is no further challenge.
Exactly. So the discussions with this provider have not started, you know, yesterday, but since a couple of months, we are in good discussions with this provider.
There is, there's also an agreement on the terms, and also, you know, approvals provided in a way that we have now gone through the formal process of, you know, agreeing on the definitive contract, and then we are ready to go.
Okay. So that this is coming 100%?
Well, it's coming 100% when it's signed. But I do not see real obstacles in the way here.
Okay. Then a quick question on one of the paragraphs of the press release where you say that you're going to limit CapEx investments in your cell facility until uncertainty around funding is gone.
So just to understand this a little bit of what could potentially be a scenario here, I'm just wondering, like, if assuming that at the EGM, if you get no approval from shareholders, you get the export credit agency, you do get the 45X credits and the DOE loan, that simply means that the CapEx is simply going to be postponed for the cell facility for a little bit longer.
Well, I mean, it's very clear and not a secret that this funding gap needs to be closed. I think this is very obvious. We have, in our strong opinion and conviction, a pretty attractive case presented. And we have prepared the closing of the additional gap by this step financing facilities that I've mentioned.
And we are convinced that we can get this all in place quickly, so that a potential delay in—and we talk about the cell line here primarily—can be reduced to a minimum, and such that it is not materially affecting our timeline. So this is our goal. Nevertheless, it's also a fact that the initial supplies of modules primarily to DESRI—DESRI signed first comes first. And remember, we signed the agreement in August 2022 when nobody spoke about the cell line. And it's also absolutely clear in the process that the cell relocation was done after the fact in terms of signing the supply contract and that, of course, the solar cell has not been part of the initial contracts at all because it wasn't there.
So, the solar cell, as I said, makes us very attractive. And it, of course, is defining the uniqueness of Meyer Burger and so also very, very much in the interest of our customers to be supplied. So what I'm saying by this, the initial module shipments in 2024 to the offtakers and primarily DESRI do not need the cell to be included. So that's why we, from day one, said cells will be supplied via our solar cell manufacturing in Germany. And this is in the making. So we are shipping already cells to the U.S. to prepare to ramp up. And our target as a management, of course, is to either eliminate totally a potential gap in the timeline or keep it at a minimum such that it doesn't really materially affect any shipments to the customers.
Also what's worth mentioning, the solar cell project is on the way. I mean, we have placed the orders for the solar cell equipment that's in the making, that's pretty much on time. The facility project is also on the way. We also anticipate, an from an operational point of view, an implementation of the equipment like we also did in Europe from the back end to the front end. What that means is, we, we do have the ability here also from a project management point of view, to start, or to organize our ramp up such that we include process steps step by step from back end to the front end but start supplying solar cells from the US, early enough. So this is we have this flexibility in the project management plan.
We have this flexibility in our supply contract to DESRI, which is the one that needs to be solved first. And we do our level best to minimize any delays in completion of the solar cell line caused by a funding gap that's not fully closed. So this is the strategy. And I hope I could make that clear to you.
Yeah. That's great. Thanks. I'll ask the other ones very quickly as they're quick answers. So, how much of the 45X credits do you expect of the $300 million to run in Q2? Then very quickly, in combination to that, you say that you want the funding gap will be closed by the rights issue, the export credit agency, and either the DOE loan or the 45X credits.
So I'm assuming that if the DOE loan comes out, you'll pay the 45X credits back. The last question is, if everything happens the way it is at the moment, you closed Germany, can you use the inventory today and sell all of that in the U.S.?
So I can I can I can say three times yes here. So you, you nicely, or perfectly summarized it. So starting with the with the last question, answer is yes. So that's the anticipation that we use our inventory to, to also finance any restructuring costs, on, on the DOE. That, that could be the strategy. So once we have approval from DOE, we could pay back 45X. And the 45X amount to be communicated up to $300 million, that's what the bank offers.
We, as I said, reserve the right to, you know, structure the size of the debt instruments to the needs that we have. So I cannot not finally answer the question how much it finally will be. But, of course, you know, it needs to be aligned with, you know, the DOE possibilities and how quickly it comes. But for the 45X, as I said, there is a likelihood that we can achieve this clarity in the second quarter of this year, so which is great.
Great. Thank you.
The next question comes from Bernd Laux. Stage is open. Mr. Laux?
Hello. Oh, good morning. Good morning, Gunter. Good morning, everybody. Sorry for the interruption. I have three questions. The first one is regarding the search for a strategic industrial partner.
If you take the timeline from starting negotiations until signing a partnership, how far advanced are you with your discussions at this point in time, please? The second question is regarding the equity capital increase. Is there any potential financial commitment coming from your offtake customers to participate in the equity capital increase? And the third one is also related to the equity capital increase. Here, as far as I understand, this capital increase has not yet been underwritten. So do you expect the transaction to be fully underwritten upfront by the participating banks? Thank you very much.
Yeah. So, starting with the first one, we did communicate a few things about it already in the January 17th call. So the history of these discussions is the following.
So we were approached already last year by several partners to start discussions with us. And we have then decided to structure it, also with the help of investment bank advisor, and have ended up into these discussions. What I can say is, of course, the interest is there, in particular for the U.S. business but also for other approaches. And the current situation with the funding gap closure is to be on our first priority as a company. And so this is why we are currently focusing on this, while we are also continuing to pursue these discussions with these parties. When we will find a common ground here, it's not easy to project.
But we are as a company still convinced that partnerships with the companies that we are in talks with would bring substantial value to the company. And this is why we are continuing here also. But first of all, it's our highest priority to close the funding gap as communicated. On the question of offtaker commitment to participate in the rights issue, I think this can, for the time being, not be expected. Never say never. So trading of subscription rights has not yet started. But if there was an upfront commitment, we would have communicated. But I believe that the commitment we have received from Sentis is already very, very strong.
And also the offtake partners, they have participated in this journey already by providing us with funding for various needs, so for CapEx on the one hand but also for working capital. So I think offtaker commitment is there, in any case. But an upfront commitment to participate in the rights issue, we would have communicated if there was one. On the underwriting, by the time of the start of the trading, if it was, I think also we would have communicated we have the super strong commitment from Sentis, which is, you know, 25% of the CHF 200 million amount, which is very much appreciated. And also, we see Sentis strong support here, for the business case. And yeah, it's, of course, also us convincing now investors on this attractive opportunity that we are strongly convinced of.
The situation is much different than what we have started with a couple of years ago when we introduced this equity story to the market, where we didn't have offtake agreements, where we saw a market and an opportunity on the back of a great, unique technology that Meyer Burger possesses. And here, it's completely different. Now we have the operational excellence achieved. We know how to ramp up factories. And we have these customer commitments in the back, which propels the case here and leads the way into profitability.
Thank you very much.
The next question comes from Mengxian Sun.
Thank you very much for taking my question. So three questions. Apologize if I missed the first part. So can you remind us what the cost of the 45 manufacturing tax credit? And the second one is on the strategic partnership.
So have you achieved any tangible progress on that? And has the partner indicated any interest in taking up the equity and the rights issuance? And the last question is regarding the.
Can you please repeat the second? I did not understand acoustically. Please again.
Yeah. So the second question is regarding to the strategic partnership in the United States. So, have you achieved any tangible progress compared to the last communication in January? And, have you asked the partner whether they want to take part in the equity rights issuance? So are there any interest in taking up the equity there? And the last question is the ongoing negotiation with the German government. As you indicated, there is something on the table and could be implemented rather in the short term. Are there any details on that?
Is this due to Resilience Bonus, or are there any new instruments?
Yep. Okay. So on the first one, what's important, again, to mention I did not say that, on the export financing, the tenor is 10.5 years. So this is, I think, also important for you to understand. On the 45X financing cost, it's more expensive than a standard corporate loan. So it's expected to be above 10% in financing cost. However, the good thing here is it's available quickly. And we can compensate later on with the DOE loan and potential repayments in order to bridge the gap here. And the DOE loan, of course, is a subsidized loan, which comes at, you know, something between 4%-5% interest rate.
On the strategic partnership progress, so we have had very intense discussions with these partners. But as I said, our first priority right now is that we close the funding gap. And this is being done by the instruments I communicated, so the equity part and the debt part. If there was a commitment from these partners, an official commitment from these partners to participate in the equity raise, then we would have communicated it. On the German government details, so yes, there are concrete concepts being discussed. And they are focusing or are using the proposals that the industry has provided, focusing both on the Resilience Bonus concept but also resilience options.
Also, the levels of subsidies here with additional or higher payments via the feed-in tariff system in Germany. That's what's on the table to bridge the gap between dumping prices from China and real cost structures in Europe. And so what I would expect if something happens within the next couple of weeks, then it's exactly this.
Thank you very much.
All right. At the moment, there are no further questions. So I would hand over back to you, Mr. Erfurt.
Yeah. Thank you. Thank you very much for your strong interest. We remain available as a company for investor discussions, and will also continue to answer all your questions. Again, I would like to reemphasize our strong commitment to the company as a management, and the entire team. We strongly believe in the case in the U.S.
We will push this forward now in order to make the company succeeding as we had initially planned. It's a pity that Europe is not understanding yet the necessity of supporting the industry in this unfair environment; remains a small window of opportunity to fix it. We will see where this ends. If it comes, of course, also, this will be very interesting for Meyer Burger's case because it's additional upside and would come on top of the $250 million at the EBITDA. We do expect once the U.S. is fully up and running, so we will continue fighting for the best solutions here. But we will no longer wait for European politics to move or not move. Hope is not a strategy.
A strategy is what we have contemplated and proposed here with the U.S. Thank you very much.