ESS Tech, Inc. (NYSE:GWH) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Davis Sunderland: And actually, your second bit on the IRA there took away a big part of what I was going to ask for a follow up, but any visibility you have into when you are going to realize those benefits, if it’s direct pay, or how you incorporate those benefits into future contracts or any read I guess, on when we might know more?

Eric Dresselhuys: So, I’ll tell you what we know, which is that the announcements that have come out public announcements that are available, have indicated there will be further indication here at the end of March. I don’t know that that will be final rulings. And it may be different across the two parts. So just to reiterate, there are two parts of the IRA that were really the most impactful to us. There are a number of other benefits as well. But the two most important ones are the investment tax credit that our customers will qualify for. And then the production tax credit that we will qualify for. On the production tax credit, we feel those rules are pretty straightforward. And we have such a high domestic content requirement.

And we’ve been doing this for years now, as we ramp up. So, we don’t feel there’s any risk on that we’re accruing right now for any units that ship we are keeping track of how many units we built and how many units we’ve shipped on the assumption that we will get, get our production tax credit for those units and that we will have direct pay available to us because the law has been pretty clear on that. What’s been a little bit more complex are some of the rules around things like the domestic content or economic development don’t add errors to the IPC. So, you may recall that the base load of the IPC is about 30%. And now does include standalone batteries, as well as batteries when they’re deployed with solar or wind. That that 30% number goes to 40%, and then up to 50% or more based on qualifying for the domestic content editor, or for the economic and energy redevelopment zones.

And those are the rules that people are most curious because they’re new. So there really isn’t as much kind of history to go point to. So, I think once those rules are clarified, that will help give people the comfort to move forward.

Davis Sunderland: Thank you.

Operator: Your next question comes from the line of Joseph Osha with Guggenheim. Your line is now open.

Joseph Osha: Thank you, guys. Thanks for taking my question. The first step, Eric, you talked about capacity and exiting the year at $800 a megawatt hours. I’m curious that the previous plan had been to continue expanding that number, might we assume from the tone of your comments that you’re going to slow that pace of manufacturing expansion?

Eric Dresselhuys: Yeah, I think at least as it relates to stack manufacturing, we’ve done a really good job with the three lines and now have plenty of capacity for a bit of time. So, I think, we’ll focus on ensuring that we’ve got capacity to build out more systems. In addition to that, and then keep a track of how the backlog is booking up. There is a lead time for automation equipment that you have to be sensitive to. So, you can’t, if you order new automation equipment, it doesn’t show up the next day. So, you’re really planning on where the pucks going to be 12 months into the future. And so that’s the one caveat I put to your comment.

Joseph Osha: That’s helpful. Thank you. The second question, just to drill down on your comment about the 14 units, so those are going to be recognized in Q1 as revenue is that correct?