Crux helped a solar manufacturer turn transferable tax credits into reliable, predictable revenue

Excerpted and adapted from Crux, “Streamlining Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit Transfers,” PFI Special Report | Global Energy, May 2025.

Since its start in 2022, transferability has introduced new ways for clean energy developers and manufacturers to monetize their federal tax credits. This is especially important for smaller developers and manufacturers and for newly eligible technologies such as nuclear, carbon capture, biogas, and advanced manufacturing. 

According to our 2024 Transferable Tax Credit Market Intelligence Report, these newly eligible technologies made up 72% of the direct tax credit transfer market in the second half of 2024. Momentum has so far remained strong in 2025.

Of these newly eligible technologies, §45X advanced manufacturing production tax credits (PTCs) have rapidly emerged as a cornerstone of the burgeoning tax credit marketplace. These credits provide eligible manufacturers with a set credit amount for each component they produce in a US-based factory. 

Leveraging efficient markets to sell §45X tax credits

Crux has facilitated several §45X tax credit transfers for a leading producer of solar panel inverters with a strong manufacturing presence in the US. 

Products and §45X eligibility

The manufacturer develops and produces solar panel inverters that convert direct current (DC) electricity from solar modules into alternating current (AC) electricity for use in homes and businesses. It is eligible for §45X advanced manufacturing PTCs for multiple product categories: its residential inverters without optimizers, its residential inverters with optimizers, and its commercial inverters with optimizers.

Leveraging a liquid tax credit marketplace

The manufacturer has a strong history of selling its §45X credits. In approaching Crux, the company sought a liquid tax credit marketplace. It came to Crux with a supply of 2024 advanced manufacturing tax credits and 2025 advanced manufacturing credits. After a quick, easy onboarding process — listing a credit on Crux’s tax credit marketplace takes just 10 minutes — Crux started marketing the §45X credits.

So far, the company has sold four tranches of its §45X credits on the Crux platform, averaging one transaction every quarter. This cadence creates a reliable, predictable monetization channel for the company. Critically, the credits have sold at a fixed, consistent price.

Crux’s transferable tax credit marketplace includes more than 900 tax credit sellers, buyers, and intermediaries. The manufacturer’s ability to sell its tax credits at a fixed price and on the cadence it expects points to the true liquidity of the marketplace.

Market expertise drives value

One of the factors that attracted the manufacturer to Crux is Crux’s experience facilitating §45X tax credit transfer transactions. Crux completed one of the first §45X transactions in the market, helping EPC Power sell its 2023 advanced manufacturing tax credits. The team’s expertise was especially important for the manufacturer — its first transaction on the Crux platform took place when there was uncertainty in the guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) around inverters. Crux turned to its deep network of third-party advisors and law firms to help the manufacturer understand standard market terms around audits, contest rights, and proposed changes in tax law. That market knowledge helped both the manufacturer and potential buyers feel confident in an uncertain policy environment.

Crux also leveraged its understanding of manufacturer and tax credit buyer needs to create a set of template documents for the manufacturer’s first transaction. The documents included specific buyer protections. This document set has become the standard for all of the manufacturer’s subsequent transactions, creating consistency while allowing the manufacturer to close transactions more efficiently.

Conclusion

The rapid growth of the §45X credit transfer market demonstrates how a liquid marketplace can efficiently connect credit sellers with corporate taxpayers. The manufacturer's experience illustrates the potential for manufacturers to establish predictable, programmatic approaches to credit monetization that deliver certainty without sacrificing competitive pricing.

Contact us to learn more about selling your tax credits on Crux.