News on incident

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

Fire at polysilicon plant of East Hope in Xinjiang on June 17, 2022

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A fire that broke out at Chinese polysilicon manufacturer East Hope in Xinjiang on June 17 is expected to halt production for about one month. The fire was caused by the leakage of a superheater.

Arabinda Ghosh (left), designated Chairman and CEO of Hemlock Semiconductor, and Ken Collins, site leader of Wacker Chemical Corporation’s polysilicon and pyrogenic silica plants in Charleston, Tennessee

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Ken Collins is new site leader of Wacker’s polysilicon plant in Charleston, Tennessee while Arabinda Ghosh will follow Mark Bassett as CEO of competitor Hemlock Semiconductor at year’s end.

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

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One of five contract workers has died after a mixture of steam and hydrochloric acid escaped during a maintenance operation at Wacker’s U.S. polysilicon plant in Charleston, Tennessee.

The factory gate of Sichuan Yongxiang’s polysilicon plant in Leshan after the flood had receded on August 20, 2020

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After a once-in-a-century flood in mid-August, Tongwei’s older polysilicon plant with a capacity of 20,000 metric tons in Leshan, Sichuan province will remain out of operation until mid-October.

Polysilicon plant of Tongwei’s subsidiary Sichuan Yongxiang Polysilicon in Leshan, Sichuan province, China

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While the polysilicon plant of Tongwei’s subsidiary Sichuan Yongxiang Polysilicon was temporarily shut down due to a flood alert, Daqo New Energy and GCL-Poly are aiming to resume production after accidents.

Distillation columns of GCL-Poly’s polysilicon plant in Xinjiang

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Chlorosilanes expert Alan Crawford argues for concerted action after four similar incidents have occurred at the Chinese polysilicon plants of Daqo, GCL-Poly, East Hope and Tongwei.

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

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The series of incidents at Wacker’s U.S. polysilicon plant in Charleston, Tennessee does not stop: Four contract workers suffered chemical burns when they performed maintenance work on July 24.

GCL-Poly’s polysilicon plant in Xinjiang

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Within just three weeks, two Chinese polysilicon manufacturers have experienced accidents at their factories. The Chinese polysilicon industry should learn its lesson from the fire at Daqo and the explosions at GCL.

Polysilicon EBITDA margins of OCI, REC Silicon and Wacker from Q3 2018 through Q3 2019

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Polysilicon makers OCI, REC Silicon and Wacker all landed in red territory in the third quarter. Operating EBITDA margins ranged from -3.4% (OCI) to -9.3% (REC Silicon) to -13.3% (Wacker).

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

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Record-low polysilicon prices and inventory valuation adjustments pushed the operating EBITDA margin of Wacker’s polysilicon division to minus 13.3% in the third quarter.