Digital New Energy DNE has learned that, REC Solar Grade Silicon between Hanwha Qcells Georgia (hereinafter referred to as Qcells), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korean photovoltaic enterprise Hanwha in the United States, and REC Silicon ASA, a subsidiary of American Silicon Material Enterprise LLC (hereinafter referred to as & nbsp; REC Silicon) has signed a long-term contract for granular silicon for up to 10 years .
According to the current market price, the contract involves an amount of US $ 3 billion (about RMB 21.87 billion). During the contract period, the relevant purchase price will fluctuate according to the market price of silicon materials.
In addition to a 10-year silicon contract, Qcells has promised to pay a large upfront fee to help restart its plant in Moses Lake, Washington, by November 1.
With the help of Hanwha, the Moses Lake plant will reach production capacity by the end of 2024, after which the granular silicon produced will be supplied to Hanwha in the United States.
Photo: REC Silicon
Back in January, Qcells & nbsp; Announced a more than 2.5 billion yuan investment plan in the United States, the company plans to build an industrial complex in Bartow County, Georgia, for the production of solar silicon ingots, wafers, cells and modules, and expand its Dalton plant.
From silicon materials to modules, Qcells may become the first company to establish a fully integrated silicon-based solar supply chain in the United States.
In order to complete this plan, Hanwha began to lay out the silicon material field early. In January 2022, Hanwha spent $100 million to acquire a 16.67% stake in REC Silicon ASA, and then gradually increased its shareholding to 33.3%, becoming the largest shareholder of the silicon company. According to the
data, REC Silicon & nbsp; ASA & nbsp; is headquartered in Norway, but has two polysilicon manufacturing plants in the United States, located in Moses Lake, Washington, and Bart, Montana. The company has a total annual production capacity of 18,000 tons in the United States, including 16,000 tons of solar-grade granular silicon in the Moses Lake plant and 2,000 tons of electronic-grade polysilicon in the Bart plant.
Because China is the largest market for solar-grade polysilicon, REC Silicon & nbsp; ASA & nbsp; closed its Moses Lake, Washington, plant in 2019.
This time, Qcells is pumping money into the plant to restart it, and the goal is much more than just building a supply chain in the US.
According to the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of the United States, Qcells will also enjoy a tax deduction of $3/kg for silicon materials purchased from the Moses Lake plant in the future, which will also bring greater competitiveness to its operations in the United States.
Digital New Energy DNE noted that in addition to large orders for silicon materials, Hanwha also plans to suspend production at a solar panel factory in South Korea in the near future, while cutting production at another factory. The move is also seen as one of the company's moves to fully develop the U.S. market.
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