Last week, the National Petroleum Company of Angola (Sonangol) and Chinese firm Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to build a polysilicon plant, which will eventually produce PV modules made of quartz ore, in Angola.
The new project will focus on quartz mining and the production of metallurgical silicon and polysilicon, with these ultimately to be used for the manufacture of PV modules. According to the plan, the estimated capacity of the project is 180,000 tons of metallurgical silicon and 150,000 tons of polysilicon per year, with an initial capacity of 50,000 tons.
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According to the statement of Sonangol, the memorandum of understanding signed by Gaspar Martins, chairman of the board of Sonangol, and Wang Fu, executive director of Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy, “paves the way for Angola to establish a PV module industry within a few years.”
While the companies did not specify to where these modules will ultimately be deployed, data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), shows that Angola already has a well-established renewable energy sector. As of 2023, clean energy accounted for 63% of the country’s energy mix.
However, hydro and marine power accounted for 91% of this installed capacity, with solar making up just 8% of the operating capacity, so there is considerable potential for growth in the solar sector.
Public data shows that Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy was established in April 2021. It is mainly engaged in the R&D, production and sales of semiconductor materials, such as PV-grade high-purity silicon and electronic-grade polysilicon.
Lihao Clean Energy’s bases are located in Xining city in Qinghai province, Yibin city in Sichuan province and Baotou city in Inner Mongolia, each with plans to add 200,000 tons of polysilicon production capacity.
The news is the latest instance of an Asian company investing in solar manufacturing in Africa, following Toyo Solar’s announcement of plans to build a 2GW cell plant in Ethiopia.
