Ascent Solar Technologies Reflects On 2025 Achievements and Milestones; Outlines 2026 Strategy and Goals
Rhea-AI Summary
Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq: ASTI) reviewed 2025 commercial progress and outlined 2026 priorities, highlighting new defense and space-focused partnerships, production ramp plans, product durability advances and a financing close. Key 2025 items include teaming agreements with NovaSpark, Emtel Energy, CisLunar Industries and others, development of space- and marine-capable thin-film PV, a Georgia Tech UAV wing demonstration, and a private placement of up to $5.5 million. For 2026 the company plans aggressive production to fulfill orders for Q1 2026 array deployments, European partner UAV deliveries in H1, continued efficiency improvements for its CIGS thin-film, and Q1 environmental testing for space conditions.
Positive
- Private placement closed for up to $5.5 million
- Multiple teaming agreements secured with defense and space partners
- Planned Q1 2026 array deliveries to fulfill existing orders
Negative
- Private placement could lead to shareholder dilution
- Reliance on defense/space contracts may concentrate revenue risk
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, ASTI gained 53.03%, reflecting a significant positive market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +83.7% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 110 alerts that day, indicating very high trading interest and price volatility. This price movement added approximately $14M to the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $40M at that time. Trading volume was exceptionally heavy at 8.0x the daily average, suggesting very strong buying interest.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
ASTI was down 1.11% while key solar peers were mixed: declines in SUNE (-5.57%) and PN (-9.92%) contrasted with gains in BEEM (+6.21%) and TURB (+1.87%), suggesting stock-specific dynamics rather than a unified sector move.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 08 | Private placement close | Negative | -3.1% | Closing of at-the-market priced private placement with warrants and dilution. |
| Dec 08 | Private placement deal | Negative | -3.1% | Agreement for up to $5.5M private placement with common and pre-funded warrants. |
| Dec 03 | Space test modules | Positive | +8.2% | Provided thin-film PV modules for spacecraft power testing in cislunar space. |
| Nov 12 | NovaSpark teaming | Positive | +2.4% | Teaming agreement to pair PV panels with mobile hydrogen systems for defense uses. |
| Nov 06 | CisLunar teaming | Positive | -18.2% | Teaming agreement targeting U.S. space customers to extend mission power solutions. |
Recent news has mostly produced aligned price reactions, with strategic partnership and technology updates tending to lift the stock, while financings and dilution events have pressured it.
Over the last several months, Ascent Solar combined strategic partnerships with capital-raising activities. In November 2025, it announced teaming agreements with NovaSpark and CisLunar to bring its thin-film PV solutions to defense and U.S. space markets, with mixed price reactions. A December 3, 2025 update on spacecraft power generation testing in cislunar space was received positively. On Dec 8, 2025, the company executed a private placement of up to $5.5 million, which coincided with a short-term share price decline.
Regulatory & Risk Context
An effective Form S-3 shelf filed on Oct 27, 2025 allows ASTI to offer up to $100,000,000 in various securities, subject to Form S-3 General Instruction I.B.6 limits tied to its public float. The filing also carries forward $74,855,618 of unsold securities under Rule 415(a)(6), providing flexibility to raise capital for general corporate purposes.
Market Pulse Summary
The stock surged +53.0% in the session following this news. A strong positive reaction aligns with the company’s emphasis on 2025 execution and a fuller 2026 pipeline of orders, UAV deployments, and efficiency improvements. Prior strategic announcements, such as space testing on Dec 3, 2025, also coincided with gains, while financings weighed on the stock. Investors would need to watch how fresh capital from the $5.5 million private placement and the $100,000,000 shelf are deployed to sustain operational progress.
Key Terms
thin-film photovoltaic technical
PV technical
CIGS technical
private placement financial
pre-funded warrants financial
warrants financial
shelf registration regulatory
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
THORNTON, Colo., Jan. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascent Solar Technologies (“Ascent” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: ASTI), the leading U.S. innovator in the design and manufacturing of featherweight, flexible thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solutions, today commented on the commercial progress, industry partnerships and solar PV efficiency improvements it achieved in 2025, as the Company’s leadership team looks ahead to continued corporate growth in 2026.
“Over the last year, we’ve seen where the market is headed and positioned our thin-film solar offerings accordingly. The defense industry has displayed an increasing demand for efficient, readily available technologies; we have made ourselves an ideal provider by offering a highly efficient product, produced in the United States, that is ready for rapid delivery,” said Paul Warley, CEO of Ascent Solar Technologies. “We expect to maintain this momentum throughout the year by meeting with more potential partners and achieving even greater efficiency milestones. Our thin-film product is uniquely qualified to withstand the rigors of space and other punishing environments; as the market demand grows, we expect increased sales and revenue in 2026.”
Key Company milestones and achievements included:
- Initiating new strategic partnerships and teaming agreements with NovaSpark, Emtel Energy, CisLunar Industries, Defiant Space, Star Catcher Industries, NOVI Space, and more, to meet mutually beneficial commercial goals in the defense industry and beyond;
- Establishing rapid product delivery capabilities to meet the swift needs of civil and defense space missions;
- Advancing its thin-film PV product’s capabilities, including its space-based power beaming abilities, marine environment durability, hydrogen production through field-based hydrolyzers, and more;
- Closing a private placement of up to
$5.5 million ; and - Partnering with the Georgia Institute of Technology to apply thin-film technology to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) wings for a demonstration aiming to enable continuous flight for ocean monitoring via sea plane vehicles.
Ascent’s leadership aims to build upon this positive business momentum in 2026 via:
- Beginning the year with an aggressive production schedule to deliver on existing orders for array deployments planned for Q1 2026;
- CEO Paul Warley conducted business travel to Europe in January to liaise with strategic players to establish potential partnerships and customer relationships;
- Developing and delivering UAV arrays for European partners in the first half of the year;
- Further advancing the efficiency of the Company’s CIGS thin-film technology;
- Continued advanced environmental testing through Q1 2026 to quantify performance in the extremes of space, including radiation and atomic oxygen resilience testing; and
- Further building upon the partnerships established in 2025 to meet mutually beneficial goals.
Ascent’s leadership team looks forward to continued success in 2026 and is eager to update its stockholder community with exciting Company announcements and milestones as they come to fruition. Anyone interested in learning more about the Company, its mission and technology, or anything else, is encouraged to visit https://www.ascentsolar.com.
About Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc.
Backed by 40 years of R&D, 15 years of manufacturing experience, numerous awards, and a comprehensive IP and patent portfolio, Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of innovative, high-performance, flexible thin-film solar panels, optimized for use in space, military and defense, and other applications where mass, performance, reliability, and resilience are paramount.
Ascent’s photovoltaic (PV) modules have been deployed on space missions, multiple airborne vehicles, agrivoltaic installations, in industrial/commercial construction as well as an extensive range of consumer goods, revolutionizing the use cases and environments for solar power. Ascent Solar’s research and development center and 5-MW nameplate production facility is in Thornton, Colorado.
To learn more, visit https: www.ascentsolar.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" including statements about the financing transaction, our business strategy, and the potential uses of the proceeds from the transaction. Such statements also include, but are not limited to, statements related to the intended use of proceeds from the offering and the potential exercise of the series warrants. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current assumptions, expectations, and projections about future events. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "will," "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of our future revenues, stock price, or results of operations. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recently filed reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q.
Media Contact
Spencer Herrmann
FischTank PR
ascent@fischtankpr.com
FAQ
What financing did Ascent Solar Technologies (ASTI) complete in 2025?
When does ASTI plan to deliver solar arrays for existing orders?
Which partners did ASTI form teaming agreements with in 2025?
What technical tests will ASTI perform in early 2026?
How will ASTI apply its thin-film PV technology in UAVs?
