- EN
- Newsroom
- Polysilicon News
- Article
Aurinka is aiming for UMG silicon, not wafer production in Spain

Under the headline “Wafer production comes back to Spain,” pv magazine recently reported that “Spanish firm Aurinka Photovoltaic Group this week announced it intends to start wafer production in the nation this year.”
This account is incorrect. Asked by Bernreuter Research, Aurinka has clarified that “the intention is to start upgraded metallurgical-grade (UMG) silicon, not wafers.”
In 2016 Aurinka formed Ferrosolar, a joint venture (JV) with Ferroglobe, a leading producer of silicon metal and silicon-based alloys, whose subsidiary Silicio Ferrosolar (not to be confused with the JV) has developed a method to produce UMG silicon. Construction of a 1,400-ton plant in Puertollano should have been finished by late 2018; in February 2019, however, Ferroglobe announced the project was suspended to reduce its capital expenditures.
Although still searching for additional partners, “Ferroglobe assumes further investments to finish the current project,” Aurinka says. It remains to be seen if this is more than wishful thinking while the market share of monocrystalline solar panels, which require high-purity polysilicon, is approaching 90%.
Get more information ...
- on the background and ranking of the world’s top ten producers: polysilicon manufacturers
- on the Siemens process, FBR technology and UMG silicon: polysilicon production processes
- on the application of polysilicon in semiconductors and solar cells: polysilicon uses
- on the size, shares and trends of the market and China’s role: polysilicon market analysis
- on the current polysilicon spot price, charts, price forecast and history: polysilicon price trend
Gain in-depth insight – with the Polysilicon Market Outlook 2024
- Benefit from 76 pages full of rich data, in-depth analyses and detailed forecasts on the polysilicon, solar and semiconductor industries
- Learn all about the latest developments of polysilicon manufacturing technologies (Siemens process, fluidized bed reactor, upgraded metallurgical-grade silicon)
- Obtain comprehensive data on production volumes and capacities of 42 solar-grade and electronic-grade polysilicon plants from 2016 through 2024
- Gain insight into decisive market trends, based on four sophisticated scenarios of supply and demand through 2024
- Get valuable guidance with cash cost data on 25 solar-grade polysilicon plants and spot price forecasts through 2024
Learn all about the polysilicon market
Comments
Add a comment