REC Silicon

The Norwegian polysilicon maker has been been frozen out of the Chinese solar market by political tensions between Beijing and the U.S. and mothballed its Washington State production line last year. However, two recent business agreements could change all that.

The Norwegian company mothballed its Washington State facility more than a year ago and is now reliant on semiconductor-grade poly and silane gas produced at its fab in Butte, Montana – a facility for which the business says it has received plenty of interest from potential purchasers.

The Chinese government will extend duties on U.S. and South Korean polysilicon for another five years from today despite committing to buy $200 billion more American goods and services in the trade deal signed on Wednesday. Poly manufacturer REC Silicon says it expects polysilicon to form part of that trade agreement.

The Norwegian polysilicon supplier – which has most of its manufacturing operations on U.S. soil – cannot give any estimate on when its solar material production lines will return, and has been left entirely dependent on the semiconductor products made by its Montana facility.

Norwegian headquartered polysilicon manufacturer REC Silicon has announced that it will lay off another 100 workers at its Moses Lake facility in the western United States, as the factory heads into long term shutdown.

The Norwegian manufacturer has delayed full shutdown of its U.S. polysilicon operation until mid July as President Trump and his Chinese counterpart are scheduled to hold talks in Osaka in two weeks’ time.

Stock in the polysilicon manufacturer appeared to be recovering in early trading on the Oslo exchange this morning after it cancelled plans for a private placement of as many as 50 million shares.

The Chinese polysilicon producer appears to be navigating a steady path to much bigger output without loading too much debt onto its shoulders – no wonder it feels able to cock a snook at its rivals.

With the deadline set by the Trump administration for avoiding a rise in further penalties on Chinese imports having passed without resolution last night, the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing reportedly warned of countermeasures, a threat which will raise fears among members of the Norwegian firm’s U.S. workforce.

The company has reported declining revenues and increasing losses in its first-quarter update. A plan to reduce polysilicon production will begin in a week’s time and if access to the Chinese market is not restored, a complete shutdown could be in place by the end of June.