News on 2018

News on suppliers, market trends and technology innovations in polysilicon and wafer production is selected, assessed and written for you by Bernreuter Research.

GCL-Poly’s wafer factory in Suzhou

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Leading China-based polysilicon and wafer maker GCL-Poly Energy Holdings made a loss of approx. US$77.7 million in the first ten months of 2018; the group will dispose its subsidiary Suzhou Kezhun Photovoltaic Technologies.

Headquarters of Yingli Green Energy (Yingli Solar) in Baoding, Hebei province

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Cash-strapped Chinese integrated solar module producer Yingli Green Energy has successfully negotiated new terms for its polysilicon long-term contracts with German supplier Wacker Chemie AG.

Worker with polysilicon rods at polysilicon plant of Osaka Titanium Technologies in Japan

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Osaka Titanium Technologies, a Japanese manufacturer of titanium materials and electronic-grade polysilicon, has announced that it will abandon polysilicon production at the end of December 2018.

PV system in Japan with solar modules from Kyocera

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Japanese solar module producer Kyocera has reached a settlement in its contract dispute with U.S.-based polysilicon manufacturer Hemlock Semiconductor.

Diamond wire saw with monocrystalline silicon ingot

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An interesting background article of pv magazine illustrates the technological progress that has facilitated the current upswing of monocrystalline silicon in the PV market.

Ministry of Commerce (Mofcom) of China, press conference on February 9, 2017

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The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has terminated duties on polysilicon imports from the European Union. Now U.S. President Trump has asked government staff to draw up a potential deal in the trade conflict with China.

Polysilicon EBITDA margins of OCI, Wacker and REC Silicon from Q3 2017 through Q3 2018

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After the EBITDA margin of its basic chemicals division, which includes polysilicon, tumbled to minus 2.0% in the third quarter of 2018, South Korean OCI mulls shifting part of its polysilicon capacity to semiconductor applications.

Workers at polysilicon plant in China

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GCL-Poly Energy Holdings and Tongwei Group have announced production capacities that are larger than originally planned for their new polysilicon factories.

Wacker’s U.S. polysilicon plant in Charleston, Tennessee

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The EBITDA margin of Wacker’s polysilicon division has become razor-thin: In the third quarter of 2018, the ratio slumped to just 2.5%, down from 16.2% in the previous quarter and 24.9% in the prior year period.

REC Silicon’s fluidized bed reactor polysilicon plant in Moses Lake, Washington at night

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U.S.-based polysilicon manufacturer REC Silicon has stopped speculation that its plant in Moses Lake, Washington could be closed.