Wacker Chemie AG opens new polysilicon production site in the US
Wacker Chemie AG, a globally active chemical company, officially opened its new polysilicon production site in Tennessee, USA on April 18. Numerous guests from politics, business and government, including Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and the state’s two US Senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, attended the ceremony in Charleston.
The company began starting up individual plant sections at Charleston in December after a construction period of just five years. The new site is the company’s largest single investment ever, totaling some US$2.5 billion. About 1,000 metric tons polysilicon have been produced there so far. Polysilicon is used as a raw material by the solar photovoltaic and electronics industry. Wacker will gradually ramp up production in the coming months and expects to reach Charleston’s full capacity of over 20,000 metric tons per year in the third quarter of 2016. Currently, the site has about 600 employees and, when fully operational, should have some 650.
Wacker CEO Rudolf Staudigl highlighted in his speech the fact that growth opportunities are arising due to photovoltaics’ continued progress around the globe. “Cost for electricity produced by photovoltaic systems has declined markedly in recent years. Consequently, this way of generating energy has become even more competitive, which is opening up new markets,” explained Staudigl.
He said that newly installed global capacity would grow again this yearand amount to between 60 and 70 gigawatts according to Wacker’s estimates.Capacity additions would be particularly high in China, the USA, Japan and India. “This will spur demand for high-grade material of the best quality, as supplied by Wacker,” emphasized Staudigl. He also said that in the photovoltaic sector, silicon technology has clearly beaten other technologies.
Also, according to Staudigl, Charleston would give Wacker the basis in the long term for a fully integrated silicon site in the USA, the world’s second-largest chemical market.Currently, WACKER is looking into constructing a new production facility there for its HDK® pyrogenic silica. Ultrapure amorphous silicon dioxide powder is used as a filler in silicone elastomers and as a viscosity-adjusting agent, for example, in coatings, printing inks and adhesives. It also serves as a flow aid in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical and food industries.
Source: Wacker