According to foreign media reports, the Hanwha Solutions Corp. Of Hanwha Group's Energy Department (Chinese translation: Hanwha Siluxin) said recently that at a time when Sino-US relations are easing. A US polysilicon manufacturer plant in which it has a stake has resumed operations after four years and eight months of cessation of operations.
Polysilicon manufacturer REC Silicon ASA recently resumed operations at its 16,000-ton-a-year plant in Moses Lake, Wash. It operates another polysilicon plant in Butte, Montana, with an annual output of 2000 tons.
According to reports, the factories ceased operations in March 2019 due to escalating trade disputes between China and the United States. Hanhua Siluxin and its affiliated companies jointly control one-third of REC Silicon's shares through equity investment to ensure stable procurement of polysilicon, the key material for solar cells. In September
this year, Hanwha Siluxin signed a 10-year agreement with REC Silicon, which will supply Hanwha Siluxin with polysilicon for 10 years from 2024. According to Han Hua, the specific supply scale will be determined according to the output in the future.
Hanwha officials said the restart of REC Silicon's Washington plant would help establish a stable U.S. value chain for its solar cell business, from polysilicon procurement to the production of ingots, wafers and modules. The timing is important,
they said, as demand for non-Chinese raw materials, including polysilicon, is rising, prompting solar cell makers to race to find key minerals in renewable energy and electric vehicle batteries.
REC Silicon's polysilicon will be supplied to Hanwha's 3 trillion won ( $2.3 billion) Solar Hub plant, which produces ingots, wafers and modules in Georgia.
In addition, polysilicon produced at REC Silicon's U.S. facilities is eligible for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit or AMPC program tax benefits associated with the U.S. government's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which benefits non-Chinese companies. Hanwha Sluxin
said it expects to benefit from the AMPC program and that the profit from the sale will be reflected in earnings in 2024. A company official said it expects to receive a tax credit of $3 for every kilogram of polysilicon sold.
In the United States, Hanwha Sluxin operates a 1.7 GW solar module plant in Georgia through its subsidiary Q CELLS. Hanwha said it was considering increasing investment in the US market and expected significant policy support.
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