Production of polysilcon continues to expand as major suppliers attempt to keep pace with market demand. Wacker Chemie has updated plans to expand its polysilicon production that includes spending €130 million on debottlenecking measures to add 10,000MT more capacity. Wacker noted that it is essentially sold out under supply contracts through 2014.
Wacker said that its production plants in Burghausen and Nünchritz, Germany, would each be able to increase capacity by 5,000MT due to debottlenecking, costing approximately €130 million.
The Burghausen plant would increase capacity from 32,000MT to about 37,000MT by the end of 2011.
The plant at Nünchritz, currently under construction with a capacity of 10,000MT, would be increased to 15,000MT. First volumes from these expansion measures are expected to be available in 2012, according to the company.
Wacker also noted that when its new polysilicon plant in Cleveland, Tennessee, is completed with an initial annual capacity of 15,000MT by the end of 2013, Wacker’s total annual capacity would reach 67,000MT by 2014.
“This expansion is necessary for us to continue meeting our customers’ demand for top-quality and highly efficient solar-grade polysilicon in the years to come,” noted Rudolf Staudigl, CEO of Wacker Chemie. “Thanks to our extensive technological expertise and our experienced engineering and production teams, we can implement this expansion quickly and cost-effectively.”
