Wacker posts 55% drop in polysilicon sales in Q2 2024

July 31, 2024
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
“Even though a sustained turnaround is not yet in sight, we are seeing the first signs that the economy is recovering,” said Christian Hartel. Image: Wacker Chemie.

German chemical company and polysilicon producer Wacker Chemie reported a 55% decline in sales for its polysilicon business in Q2 2024.

Wacker Polysilicon generated €232 million (US$251 million) in sales from April through June 2024, down from €513 million (US$556 million) in the same period 2023. It said that this was driven primarily by “significantly lower” solar-grade polysilicon volumes.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Sales figures were also down 23% sequentially, compared with €300 million (US$324.7 million) in Q1, as shown in the graph below.

Graph: PV Tech

These sales figures translated to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of €55 million (US$59 million) in the polysilicon business, down 65% on Q2 2023’s €156 million (US$169 million). Compared with Q1, EBITDA was up 27% from €43 million (US$46 million) Wacker attributed this mostly to lower energy prices, which is a key factor in the energy-intensive polysilicon production process.

Wacker Group CEO and president Christian Hartel said: “Even though a sustained turnaround is not yet in sight, we are seeing the first signs that the economy is recovering. Inflation rates are dropping at a faster rate than expected, and energy and raw-material prices have eased.” 

He continued: “In our polysilicon business, we have further increased the share of polysilicon destined for the semiconductor industry.”

The polysilicon market has been in a troubled state over the last year and a half. Prices have fallen to around one-fifth of what they were in early 2023, and they hit a “new low” of RMB33,000/ton (US$4,535) earlier this month (10 July), a 43% decrease compared with the start of the year (premium access).  

Graph: PV Tech

Simultaneously, many of the largest producers in China have ramped up capacity expansions. In November, polysilicon market analyst Johannes Bernreuter forecast that oversupply in the polysilicon market could reach 1.4 million tonnes in 2024, creating a market that Bernreuter called “cut throat”.

He said the result of this oversupply would likely be market consolidation, where the largest players – led by Chinese producer Tongwei – would force out “most, if not all” new, smaller Chinese entrants to the market.

Wacker ships polysilicon to China, and it has become its “number one single market worldwide,” according to the company’s website. On a company-wide level, beyond just the polysilicon division, Wacker saw total shipments to Asia decrease by 33% in Q2 2024, though it did not say to which national markets or business divisions this referred.

In February, Bernreuter Research published data that showed that polysilicon shipments into China had fallen to their lowest levels since 2011, with greater volumes instead going to southeast Asia in response to US import restrictions on Chinese products.

Total Wacker Group EBITDA – including its polysilicon, silicones, polymers and biosolutions sectors – was €160 million (US$173 million), a 37% drop year-on-year. None of the other sectors experienced as sharp a drop in sales and earnings as the polysilicon business, and the silicones and biosolutions sectors actually saw sales increases.

25 November 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Large Scale Solar Central and Eastern Europe continues to be the place to leverage a network that has been made over more than 10 years, to build critical partnerships to develop solar projects throughout the region.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 29, 2025
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided US$142 million in financing for the construction of a 1GW solar and 1.3GWh BESS portfolio in Uzbekistan.
October 29, 2025
Greenvolt and European Energy have finalised financial deals for solar-plus-storage projects in Denmark and Latvia.
October 29, 2025
NextEra Energy Resources added 3GW of new renewable energy generation and storage capacity to its portfolio in the third quarter of 2025.
October 29, 2025
French firms TotalEnergies and EDF, with local partners, secured contracts for 400MW and 600MW solar projects in Saudi Arabia, supporting Vision 2030 renewable goals.
October 29, 2025
US solar manufacturer Corning has brought online its wafer production at its Michigan plant, during the third quarter of 2025.
October 28, 2025
GreenYellow plans to invest US$116 million in Poland over the next three years to expand its installed capacity and customer base.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
November 12, 2025
10am PST / 1pm EST
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK
Solar Media Events
March 10, 2026
Frankfurt, Germany