REC Advanced Silicon Material LLC is shutting down one of its two polysilicon production facilities in the United States. It says the decision is primarily due to regional structural imbalances in supply and demand for electricity.
German chemical group Wacker Chemie says its sales fell 22% year on year to €6.40 billion ($6.9 billion) in 2023. Its polysilicon division contributed EUR 1.6 billion to sales, down from EUR 2.29 billion in the preceding year.
The German company’s decision to cede market share to Chinese companies producing the material for solar panels, in order to focus on semiconductor-ready, electronic grade product, has seen it slip behind its rivals in terms of production scale.
Chinese giant has signed orders for more than 100,000 metric tons of poly to the end of 2023 in a further sign of confidence in the outlook for solar.
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.
This website uses cookies to anonymously count visitor numbers. View our privacy policy.
The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.