In 2010, the photovoltaic world market almost doubled in terms of production to 23 to 24 GW. The market for installed systems doubled again and values between 16 and 18 GW were reported by various consultancies and institutions. This mainly represents the grid-connected photovoltaic market. To what extent the off-grid and consumer-product markets are included is unclear. The difference of roughly 6 GW to 7 GW has therefore to be explained as a combination of unaccounted off-grid installations (approx. 1–200 MW off-grid rural, approx. 1–200 MW communication/signals, approx. 100 MW off-grid commercial), consumer products (ca. 1–200 MW) and cells/modules in stock.

In addition, the fact that some companies report shipment figures, whereas others report production figures, add to the uncertainty. The difficult economic conditions contributed to the decreased willingness to report confidential company data. Nevertheless, the figures show a significant growth of the production, as well as an increasing silicon supply situation.

The announced production capacities, based on a survey of more than 350 companies worldwide, increased, even with difficult economic conditions. Despite the fact that a number of players announced a scale-back or cancellation of their expansion plans for the time being, the number of new entrants into the field, notably large semiconductor or energy-related companies overcompensated this. At least on paper the expected production capacities are increasing. Only published announcements of the respective companies and no third source info were used. The cutoff date of the info used was June 2011.

It is important to note that production capacities are often announced, taking into account different operation models, such as number of shifts, operating hours per year, etc. In addition, the announcements of the increase in production capacity do not always specify when the capacity will be fully ramped up and operational. This method has of course the setback that (a) not all companies announce their capacity increases in advance and (b) that in times of financial tightening, the announcements of the scale-back of expansion plans are often delayed, in order not to upset financial markets. Therefore, the capacity figures just give a trend, but do not represent final numbers.

If all these ambitious plans can be realised by 2015, China will have about 46.3% of the worldwide production capacity of 102 GW, followed by Taiwan (15.8%), Europe (9.5%) and Japan (6.9%) (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1 Worldwide PV Production 2010 with future planned production capacity increases.

All these ambitious plans to increase production capacities, at such a rapid pace, depend on the expectations that markets will grow accordingly. This, however, is the biggest uncertainty, as the market estimates for 2011 vary between 17 GW and 24 GW, with a consensus value in the 19 GW range. In addition, most markets are still dependent on public support in the form of feed-in tariffs, investment subsidies or tax-breaks.

Already now, electricity production from photovoltaic solar systems has shown that it can be cheaper than peak prices in the electricity exchange. In the second quarter of 2011, the German average price index, for rooftop systems up to 100 kWp, was given with €2,422 per kWp without tax or half the price of five years ago [5]. With such investment costs, the electricity generation costs are already at the level of residential electricity prices in some countries, depending on the actual electricity price and the local solar radiation level. But only if markets and competition continue to grow, prices of the photovoltaic systems will continue to decrease and make electricity from PV systems for consumers even cheaper than from conventional sources. In order to achieve the price reductions and reach grid-parity for electricity generated from photovoltaic systems, public support, especially on regulatory measures, will be necessary for the next decade.

1 Technology Mix

Wafer-based silicon solar cells is still the main technology and had around 85% market shares in 2010. Commercial module efficiencies are within a wide range between 12 and 20%, with monocrystalline modules between 14% and 20%, and polycrystalline modules between 12% and 17%. The massive manufacturing capacity increases for both technologies are followed by the necessary capacity expansions for polysilicon raw material.

In 2005, for the first time, production of thin-film solar modules reached more than 100 MW per annum. Since then, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of thin-film solar module production was even beyond that of the overall industry, increasing the market share of thin-film products from 6% in 2005 to 10% in 2007 and 16–20% in 2009.

More than 200 companies are involved in thin-film solar cell activities, ranging from basic R&D activities to major manufacturing activities and over 120 of them have announced the start or increase of production. The first 100 MW thin-film factories became operational in 2007, followed by the first 1 GW factory in 2010. If all expansion plans are realised in time, thin-film production capacity could be 17 GW, or 21% of the total 80 GW in 2012, and 27 GW, or 26%, in 2015 of a total of 102 GW (Figure 2).

FIGURE 2 Annual PV Production capacities of thin-film and crystalline silicon based solar modules.

One should bear in mind that only one third of the over 120 companies, with announced production plans, have produced thin-film modules of 10 MW or more in 2010.

More than 70 companies are silicon-based and use either amorphous silicon or an amorphous/microcrystalline silicon structure. Thirty-six companies announced using Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)₂ as absorber material for their thin-film solar modules, whereas nine companies use CdTe and eight companies go for dye and other materials.

Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV) is an emerging technology which is growing at a very high pace, although from a low starting point. About 50 companies are active in the field of CPV development and almost 60% of them were founded in the last five years. Over half of the companies are located either in the United States of America (primarily in California) and Europe (primarily in Spain).

Within CPV there is a differentiation according to the concentration factors¹ and whether the system uses a dish (Dish CPV) or lenses (Lens CPV). The main parts of a CPV system are the cells, the optical elements and the tracking devices. The recent growth in CPV is based on significant improvements in all of these areas, as well as the system integration. However, it should be pointed out that CPV is just at the beginning of an industry learning curve, with a considerable potential for technical and cost improvements. The most challenging task is to become cost-competitive with other PV technologies quickly enough, in order to use the window of opportunities for growth.

With market estimates for 2010 in the 5 to 10 MW range, the market share of CPV is still small, but analysts forecast an increase to more than 1,000 MW globally by 2015. At the moment, the CPV pipeline is dominated by just three system manufacturers: Concentrix Solar, Amonix, and SolFocus.

The existing photovoltaic technology mix is a solid foundation for future growth of the sector as a whole. No single technology can satisfy all the different consumer needs, ranging from mobile and consumer applications, with the need for a few watts to multi MW utility-scale power plants. The variety of technologies is an insurance against a roadblock for the implementation of solar photovoltaic electricity if material limitations or technical obstacles restrict the further growth or development of a single technology pathway.

2 Solar Cell Production² Companies

Worldwide, more than 350 companies produce solar cells. The following chapter gives a short description of the 20 largest companies, in terms of actual production/shipments in 2010. More information about additional solar cell companies and details can be found in various market studies and in the country chapters of this report. The capacity, production, or shipment data are from the annual reports or financial statements of the respective companies or the cited references.

2.1 Suntech Power Co. Ltd. (PRC)

Suntech Power Co. Ltd. (www.suntech-power.com) is located in Wuxi. It was founded in January 2001 by Dr. Zhengrong Shi and went public in December 2005. Suntech specialises in the design, development, manufacturing and sale of photovoltaic cells, modules and systems. For 2010, Suntech reported shipments of 1507 MW, taking the top rank amongst the solar cell manufacturers. The annual production capacity of Suntech Power was increased to 1.8 GW by the end of 2010, and the company plans to expand its capacity to 2.4 GW in 2011.

2.2 JA Solar Holding Co. Ltd. (PRC)

JingAo Solar Co. Ltd. (www.jasolar.com) was established in May 2005 by the Hebei Jinglong Industry and Commerce Group Co. Ltd., the Australia Solar Energy Development Pty. Ltd. and Australia PV Science and Engineering Company. Commercial operation started in April 2006 and the company went public on 7 February 2007. According to the company, the production capacity should increase from 1.9 GW at the end of 2010 to 2.5 GW in 2011. For 2010, shipments of 1,460 MW are reported.

2.3 First Solar LLC. (USA/Germany/Malaysia)

First Solar LLC (www.firstsolar.com) is one of the few companies world-wide to produce CdTe-thin-film modules. The company has currently three manufacturing sites in Perrysburg (USA), Frankfurt/Oder (Germany) and in Kulim (Malaysia), which had a combined capacity of 1.5 GW at the end of 2010. The second Frankfurt/Oder plant, doubling the capacity there to 512 MW, became operational in May 2011 and the expansion in Kulim is on track to increase the production capacity to 2.3 GW at the end of 2011. Further expansions are under way in Meze (AZ), USA, and Dong Nam Industrial Park, Vietnam, to increase the production capacity to 2.9 GW at the end of 2012. The new factory planned in the framework of a joint venture with EdF Nuovelles in France is currently on hold. In 2010, the company produced 1.4 GW and currently sets the production cost benchmark with 0.75 $/Wp (0.58 €/Wp) in the first quarter of 2011.

2.4 Sharp Corporation (Japan/Italy)

Sharp (www.sharp-world.com) started to develop solar cells in 1959 and commercial production got under way in 1963. Since its products were mounted on “Ume,” Japan’s first commercial-use artificial satellite, in 1974, Sharp has been the only Japanese maker to produce silicon solar cells for use in space. Another milestone was achieved in 1980, with the release of electronic calculators, equipped with single-crystal solar cells.

In 2010, Sharp had a production capacity of 1,070 MWp/year, and shipments of 1.17 GW were reported [9]. Sharp has two solar cell factories in Japan, Katsuragi, Nara Prefecture, (550 MW c-Si and 160 MW a-Si their triple-junction thin-film solar cell) and Osaka (200 MW c-Si and 160 MW a-Si), one together with Enel Green Power and STMicroelectronics in Catania, Italy (initial capacity 160 MW at the end of 2011), six module factories and the Toyama factory to recycle and produce silicon. Three of the module factories are outside Japan, one in Memphis, Tennessee, USA with 100 MW capacity; one in Wrexham, UK, with 500 MW capacity; and one in Nakornpathom, Thailand.

2.5 Trina Solar Ltd, PRC (PRC)

Trina Solar (www.trinasolar.com/) was founded in 1997 and went public in December 2006. The company has integrated product lines, from ingots to wafers and modules. In December 2005, a 30-MW monocrystalline silicon wafer product line went into operation. According to the company, the production capacity was 750 MW for ingots and wafers and 1.2 GW for cells and modules at the end of 2010. For 2011, it is planned to expand the capacities to 1.2 GW for ingots and wafers and to 1.9 GW for cells and modules. For 2010, shipments of 1.06 GW were reported.

In January 2010, the company was selected by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to establish a State Key Laboratory to develop PV technologies within the Changzhou Trina PV Industrial Park. The laboratory is established as a national platform for driving PV technologies in China. Its mandate includes research into PV-related materials, cell and module technologies and system-level performance. It will also serve as a platform to bring together technical capabilities from the company’s strategic partners, including customers and key PV component suppliers, as well as universities and research institutions.

2.6 Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Ltd. (PRC)

Yingli Green Energy (www.yinglisolar.com/) went public on 8 June 2007. The main operating subsidiary, Baoding Tianwei Yingli New Energy Resources Co. Ltd., is located in the Baoding National High-New Tech Industrial Development Zone. The company deals with the whole set, from solar wafers, cell manufacturing and module production. According to the company, production capacity reached 1 GW in July 2010. A further expansion project to 1.7 GW is ongoing and should be operational at the end of 2011. The financial statement for 2010 gave shipments of 1.06 GW.

In January 2009, Yingli acquired Cyber Power Group Limited, a development stage enterprise designed to produce polysilicon. Through its principle operating subsidiary, Fine Silicon, the company started trial production of solar-grade polysilicon in late 2009 and is expected to reach its full production capacity of 3,000 tons per year by the end of 2011.

In January 2010, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China approved the application to establish a national-level key laboratory in the field of PV technology development, the State Key Laboratory of PV Technology at Yingli Green Energy’s manufacturing base in Baoding.

2.7 Q-Cells AG (Germany/Malaysia)

Q-Cells SE (www.qcells.de) was founded at the end of 1999 and is based in Thalheim, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Solar cell production started in mid 2001, with a 12 MWp production line. In the 2010 Annual Report, the company stated that the nominal capacity was 1.1 GW by the end of 2010, 500 MW in Germany, and 600 MW in Malaysia. In 2010, production was 936 MW, 479 MW in Germany, and 457 MW in Malaysia.

In the first half of the last decade, Q-Cells broadened and diversified its product portfolio by investing in various other companies, or forming joint ventures. Since the first half of 2009, Q-Cells has sold most of these holdings and now has one fully owned solar cell manufacturing subsidiary, Solibro (CIGS) with a 2010 production of 75 MW.

2.8 Motech Solar (Taiwan/PRC)

Motech Solar (www.motech.com.tw) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Motech Industries Inc., located in the Tainan Science Industrial Park. The company started its mass production of polycrystalline solar cells at the end of 2000, with an annual production capacity of 3.5 MW. The production increased from 3.5 MW in 2001 to 850 MW in 2010. In 2009, Motech started the construction of a factory in China which should reach its nameplate capacity of 500 MW in 2011. Production capacity at the end of 2010 was given as 1.2 GW (860 MW in Taiwan and 340 MW in China).

In 2007, Motech Solar’s Research and Development Department was upgraded to Research and Development Centre (R&D Centre), with the aim not only to improve the present production processes for wafer and cell production, but to develop next generation solar cell technologies.

At the end of 2009, the company announced that it acquired the module manufacturing facilities of GE in Delaware, USA.

2.9 Gintech Energy Corporation (Taiwan)

Gintech (www.gintech.com.tw/) was established in August 2005 and went public in December 2006. Production at Factory Site A, Hsinchu Science Park, began in 2007 with an initial production capacity of 260 MW and increased to 930 MW at the end of 2010. The company plans to expand capacity to 1.5 GW in 2011. In 2010, the company had a production of 827 MW [24].

2.10 Kyocera Corporation (Japan)

In 1975, Kyocera (http://global.kyocera.com/prdct/solar/) began with research on solar cells. The Shiga Yohkaichi Factory was established in 1980 and R&D and manufacturing of solar cells and products started with mass production of multicrystalline silicon solar cells in 1982. In 1993, Kyocera started as the first Japanese company to sell home PV generation systems.

Besides the solar cell manufacturing plants in Japan, Kyocera has module manufacturing plants in China (joint venture with the Tianjin Yiqing Group (10% share) in Tianjin since 2003); Tijuana, Mexico (since 2004); and in Kadan, Czech Republic (since 2005).

In 2010, Kyocera had a production of 650 MW and is also marketing systems that both generate electricity through solar cells and exploit heat from the sun for other purposes, such as heating water. The Sakura Factory, Chiba Prefecture, is involved in everything from R&D and system planning to construction and servicing and the Shiga Factory, Shiga Prefecture, is active in R&D, as well as the manufacturing of solar cells, modules, equipment parts, and devices, which exploit heat. Like solar companies, Kyocera is planning to increase its current capacity of 650 MW in 2010 to 800 MW in 2011 and 1 GW in 2012.

2.11 SunPower Corporation (USA/Philippines/Malaysia)

SunPower (http://us.sunpowercorp.com/) was founded in 1988 by Richard Swanson and Robert Lorenzini to commercialise proprietary high-efficiency silicon solar cell technology. The company went public in November 2005. SunPower designs and manufactures high-performance silicon solar cells, based on an inter-digitated rear-contact design for commercial use. The initial products, introduced in 1992, were high-concentration solar cells with an efficiency of 26%. SunPower also manufactures a 22% efficient solar cell, called Pegasus, that is designed for non-concentrating applications.

SunPower conducts its main R&D activity in Sunnyvale, California, and has its cell manufacturing plant outside of Manila in the Philippines, with 590 MW capacity (Fab. No 1 and No 2). Fab. No. 3, a joint venture with AU Optronics Corporation (AUO), with a planned capacity of 1.4 GW, is currently under construction in Malaysia. Production in 2010 was reported at 584 MW.

2.12 Canadian Solar Inc. (PRC)

Canadian Solar Inc. was founded in Canada in 2001 and was listed on NASDAQ in November 2006. CSI has established six wholly owned manufacturing subsidiaries in China, manufacturing ingot/wafer, solar cells and solar modules. According to the company, it had 200 MW of ingot and wafer capacity, 800 MW cell capacity and 1.3 GW module manufacturing capacity in 2010. The company reports that it is on track to expand their solar cell capacity to 1.3 GW and the module manufacturing capacity to 2 GW, including 200 MW in Ontario, Canada, in 2011. For 2010, the company reported production of 522 MW solar cells and sales of 803 MW of modules.

2.13 Hanwah Solar One (PRC/South Korea)

Hanwah Solar One (www.hanwha-solarone.com) was established in 2004 as Solarfun Power Holdings, by the electricity meter manufacturer, Lingyang Electronics, the largest Chinese manufacturer of electric power meters. In 2010, the Korean company, Hanwha Chemical, acquired 49.99% of the shares and a name change was performed in January 2011. The company produces silicon ingots, wafers, solar cells, and solar modules. The first production line was completed at the end of 2004 and commercial production started in November 2005. The company went public in December 2006 and reported the completion of its production capacity expansion to 360 MW in the second quarter of 2008.

As of 30 April 2011, the company reported the following capacities: 1 GW PV module production capacity, 700 MW of cell production capacity, 415 MW of ingot production capacity and 500 MW of wire sawing capacity. It is planned to expand the module production capacity to 1.5 GW, cell production capacity to 1.3 GW, and ingot and wafer production capacity to 1 GW by the end of 2011.

The 2010 annual production was reported with 360 MW ingots, 387 MW wafers, 502 MW solar cells, and 759 modules.

2.14 Neo Solar Power Corporation (Taiwan)

Neo Solar Power (www.neosolarpower.com/) was founded in 2005 by PowerChip Semiconductor, Taiwan’s largest DRAM company, and went public in October 2007. The company manufactures mono- and multicrystalline silicon solar cells and offers their SUPERCELL multicrystalline solar-cell brand with 16.8% efficiency. Production capacity of silicon solar cells at the end of 2010 was 820 MW, and the expansion to more than 1.3 GW is planned for 2011. In 2010, the company had shipments of about 500 MW.

2.15 Renewable Energy Corporation AS (Norway/Singapore)

REC’s (www.recgroup.com/) vision is to become the most cost-efficient solar energy company in the world, with a presence throughout the whole value chain. REC is presently pursuing an aggressive strategy to this end. Through its various group companies, REC is already involved in all major aspects of the PV value chain. The company located in Høvik, Norway, has five business activities, ranging from silicon feedstock to solar system installations.

REC ScanCell is located in Narvik, producing solar cells. From the start-up in 2003, the factory has been continuously expanding. In 2010, production of solar cells was 452 MW, with a capacity at year end of 180 MWp in Norway and 550 MW in Singapore.

2.16 Solar World AG (German/USA)

Since its founding in 1998, Solar World (www.solarworld.de/) has changed from a solar system and components dealer to a company covering the whole PV value chain, from wafer production to system installations. The company now has manufacturing operations for silicon wafers, cells, and modules in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro (OR), USA. Additional solar module production facilities exist in Camarillo (CA), USA, and since 2008 with a joint venture between Solarworld and SolarPark Engineering Co. Ltd. in Jeonju, South Korea.

For 2010, solar cell production capacities in Germany were reported at 250 MW and 500 MW in the USA. Total cell production in 2010 was 451 MW, with 200 MW coming from Germany and 251 MW from the USA.

In 2003, the Solar World Group was the first company worldwide to implement silicon solar cell recycling. The Solar World subsidiary, Deutsche Solar AG, commissioned a pilot plant for the reprocessing of crystalline cells and modules.

2.17 Sun Earth Solar Power Co. Ltd. (PRC)

Sun Earth Solar Power (www.nbsolar.com/), or NbSolar, has been part of China’s PuTian Group since 2003. The company has four main facilities for silicon production, ingot manufacturing, system integration, and solar system production. According to company information, Sun Earth has imported solar cell and module producing and assembling lines from America and Japan.

In 2007, Sun Earth Solar Power relocated to the Ningbo high-tech zone, with the global headquarters of Sun Earth Solar Power. There the company produces wafers, solar cells, and solar modules. The second phase of production capacity expansion to 350 MW was completed in 2009. Further expansion is planned from 450 MW in 2010, 700 MW in 2011, and 1 GW in 2012. For 2010, shipments of 421 MW were reported [24].

2.18 E-TON Solartech Co. Ltd. (Taiwan)

E-Ton Solartech (www.e-tonsolar.com) was founded in 2001 by the E-Ton Group; a multinational conglomerate dedicated to producing sustainable technology and energy solutions and was listed on the Taiwan OTC stock exchange in 2006.

At the end of 2010, the production capacity was 560 MW per annum and a capacity increase to 820 MW is foreseen for 2011. Shipments of solar cells were reported at 420 MW for 2010.

2.19 SANYO Electric Company (Japan)

Sanyo (http://sanyo.com/solar/) commenced R&D for a-Si solar cells in 1975. 1980 marked the beginning of Sanyo’s a-Si solar cell mass productions for consumer applications. Ten years later in 1990, research on the HIT (Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin Layer) structure was started. In 1992, Dr. Kuwano (former president of SANYO) installed the first residential PV system at his private home. Amorphous Silicon modules for power use became available from SANYO in 1993 and in 1997 the mass production of HIT solar cells started. In 2010, Sanyo produced 405 MW solar cells [24]. The company announced increasing its 2009 production capacity of 500 MW HIT cells to 650 MW by 2011.

At the end of 2002, Sanyo announced the start of module production outside Japan. The company now has a HIT PV module production at SANYO Energy S.A. de C.V.’s Monterrey, Mexico, and it joined Sharp and Kyocera to set up module manufacturing plants in Europe. In 2005, it opened its module manufacturing plant in Dorog, Hungary.

Sanyo has set a world record for the efficiency of the HIT solar cell, with 23% under laboratory conditions [Tag 2009]. The HIT structure offers the possibility to produce double-sided solar cells, which has the advantage of collecting scattered light on the rear side of the solar cell and can therefore increase the performance by up to 30%, compared to one-sided HIT modules in the case of vertical installation.

2.20 China Sunergy

China Sunergy was established as CEEG Nanjing PV-Tech Co. (NJPV), a joint venture between the Chinese Electrical Equipment Group in Jiangsu and the Australian Photovoltaic Research Centre in 2004. China Sunergy went public in May 2007. At the end of 2008, the Company had five selective emitter (SE) cell lines, four HP lines, three capable of using multicrystalline and monocrystalline wafers, and one normal P-type line for multicrystalline cells, with a total nameplate capacity of 320 MW. At the end of 2010, the company had a cell capacity of 400 MW and a module capacity of 480 MW. For 2011, a capacity increase to 750 MW cells and 1.2 GW of modules is foreseen. For 2010, a production of 347 MW was reported.

3 Polysilicon Supply

The rapid growth of the PV industry since 2000 led to the situation where, between 2004 and early 2008, the demand for polysilicon outstripped the supply from the semiconductor industry. Prices for purified silicon started to rise sharply in 2007 and in 2008 prices for polysilicon peaked around 500 $/kg and consequently resulted in higher prices for PV modules. This extreme price hike triggered a massive capacity expansion, not only of established companies, but many new entrants as well. In 2009, more than 90% of total polysilicon, for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industry, was supplied by seven companies: Hemlock, Wacker Chemie, REC, Tokuyama, MEMC, Mitsubishi and Sumitomo. However, it is estimated that now about seventy producers are present in the market.

The massive production expansions, as well as the difficult economic situation, led to a price decrease throughout 2009, reaching about 50–55 $/kg at the end of 2009, with a slight upwards tendency throughout 2010 and early 2011.

For 2010, about 140,000 metric tons of solar grade silicon production were reported, sufficient for around 20 GW, under the assumption of an average materials need of 7 g/Wp [18]. China produced about 45,000 metric tons, or 32%, capable of supplying about 75% of the domestic demand [30]. According to the Semi PV Group Roadmap, the Chinese production capacity rose to 85,000 metric tons of polysilicon in 2010.

In January 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology tightened the rules for polysilicon factories. New factories must be able to produce more than 3,000 metric tons of polysilicon a year and meet certain efficiency, environmental, and financing standards. The maximum electricity use is 80 kWh/kg of polysilicon produced a year, and that number will drop to 60 kWh at the end of 2011. Existing plants that consume more than 200 kWh/kg of polysilicon produced at the end of 2011 will be shut down.

Projected silicon production capacities available for solar in 2012 vary between 250,000 metric tons [4] and 410,665 metric tons [9]. The possible solar cell production will in addition depend on the material use per Wp. Material consumption could decrease from the current 7 to 8 g/Wp down to 5 to 6 g/Wp, but this might not be achieved by all manufacturers.

3.1 Silicon Production Processes

The high growth rates of the photovoltaic industry and the market dynamics forced the high-purity silicon companies to explore process improvements, mainly for two chemical vapour deposition (CVD) approaches—an established production approach known as the Siemens process, and a manufacturing scheme based on fluidised bed (FB) reactors. Improved versions of these two types of processes will very probably be the workhorses of the polysilicon production industry for the near future.

3.1.1 Siemens Process

In the late 1950s, the Siemens reactor was developed and has been the dominant production route ever since. About 80% of total polysilicon manufactured worldwide was made with a Siemens-type process in 2009. The Siemens process involves deposition of silicon from a mixture of purified silane or trichlorosilane gas, with an excess of hydrogen onto high-purity polysilicon filaments. The silicon growth then occurs inside an insulated reaction chamber or “bell jar,” which contains the gases. The filaments are assembled as electric circuits in series and are heated to the vapour deposition temperature by an external direct current. The silicon filaments are heated to very high temperatures between 1,100–1,175 °C at which trichlorsilane, with the help of the hydrogen, decomposes to elemental silicon and deposits as a thin-layer film onto the filaments. Hydrogen Chloride (HCl) is formed as a by-product.

The most critical process parameter is temperature control. The temperature of the gas and filaments must be high enough for the silicon from the gas to deposit onto the solid surface of the filament, but well below the melting point of 1,414 °C, that the filaments do not start to melt. Second, the deposition rate must be well controlled and not too fast, because otherwise the silicon will not deposit in a uniform, polycrystalline manner, making the material unsuitable for semiconductor and solar applications.

3.1.2 Fluidised Bed Process

A number of companies develop polysilicon production processes based on fluidised bed (FB) reactors. The motivation to use the FB approach is the potentially lower energy consumption and a continuous production, compared to the Siemens batch process. In this process, tetrahydrosilane or trichlorosilane and hydrogen gases are continuously introduced onto the bottom of the FB reactor at moderately elevated temperatures and pressures. At a continuous rate, high-purity silicon seeds are inserted from the top and are suspended by the upward flow of gases. At the operating temperatures of 750 °C, the silane gas is reduced to elemental silicon and deposits on the surface of the silicon seeds. The growing seed crystals fall to the bottom of the reactor where they are continuously removed.

MEMC Electronic Materials, a silicon wafer manufacturer, has been producing granular silicon from silane feedstock, using a fluidised bed approach for over a decade. Several new facilities will also feature variations of the FB. Several major players in the polysilicon industry, including Wacker Chemie and Hemlock, are developing FB processes, while at the same time continuing to produce silicon using the Siemens process as well.

Upgraded metallurgical grade (UMG) silicon was seen as one option to produce cheaper solar grade silicon with 5- or 6-nines purity, but the support for this technology is waning in an environment where higher-purity methods are cost-competitive. A number of companies delayed or suspended their UMG-silicon operations as a result of low prices and lack of demand for UMG material for solar cells.

4 Polysilicon Manufacturers

World-wide more than 100 companies produce or start up polysilicon production. The following section gives a short description of the ten largest companies in terms of production capacity in 2010. More information about additional polysilicon companies and details can be found in various market studies and the country chapters of this report.

4.1 Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation (USA)

Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation (www.hscpoly.com) is based in Hemlock, Michigan. The corporation is a joint venture of Dow Corning Corporation (63.25%) and two Japanese firms, Shin-Etsu Handotai Company, Ltd. (24.5%) and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (12.25%). The company is the leading provider of polycrystalline silicon and other silicon-based products used in the semiconductor and solar industry.

In 2007, the company had an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons of polycrystalline silicon and production at the expanded Hemlock site (19,000 tons) started in June 2008. A further expansion at the Hemlock site, as well as a new factory in Clarksville, Tennessee, was started in 2008 and brought total production capacity to 36,000 tons in 2010. A further expansion to 40,000 tons in 2011 and 50,000 tons in 2012 is planned [9].

4.2 Wacker Polysilicon (Germany)

Wacker Polysilicon AG (www.wacker.com), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of hyper-pure polysilicon for the semiconductor and photovoltaic industry, chlorosilanes and fumed silica. In 2010, Wacker increased its capacity to over 30,000 tons and produced 30,500 tons of polysilicon. The next 10,000 tons expansion in Nünchritz (Saxony), Germany, started production in 2011. In 2010, the company decided to build a polysilicon plant in Tennessee with 15,000 tons capacity. The groundbreaking of the new factory was in April 2011, and the construction should be finished at the end of 2013.

4.3 OCI Company (South Korea)

OCI Company Ltd. (formerly DC Chemical) (www.oci.co.kr/) is a global chemical company with a product portfolio spanning the fields of inorganic chemicals, petro and coal chemicals, fine chemicals, and renewable energy materials. In 2006, the company started its polysilicon business and successfully completed its 6,500 metric ton P1 plant in December 2007. The 10,500 metric ton P2 expansion was completed in July 2009 and P3 with another 10,000 metric tons brought the total capacity to 27,000 metric tons at the end of 2010. The debottlenecking of P3, foreseen in 2011, should then increase the capacity to 42,000 tons at the end of the year. Further capacity expansions P4 (20,000 tons by 2012) and P5 (24,000 tons by 2013) have already started (P4) or will commence in the second half of this year (P5).

4.4 GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited (PRC)

GCL-Poly (www.gcl-poly.com.hk) was founded in March 2006 and started the construction of their Xuzhou polysilicon plant (Jiangsu Zhongneng Polysilicon Technology Development Co. Ltd.) in July 2006. Phase I has a designated annual production capacity of 1,500 tons, and the first shipments were made in October 2007. Full capacity was reached in March 2008. At the end of 2010, polysilicon production capacity had reached 21,000 tons and further expansions to 46,000 tons in 2011 and 65,000 tons in 2012 are underway. For 2010, the company reported a production 17,850 metric tons of polysilicon.

In August 2008, a joint-venture, Taixing Zhongneng (Far East) Silicon Co. Ltd., started pilot production of trichlorsilane. Phase I will be 20,000 tons, to be expanded to 60,000 tons in the future.

4.5 MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (USA)

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (www.memc.com/) has its headquarters in St. Peters, Missouri. It started operations in 1959 and the company’s products are semiconductor-grade wafers, granular polysilicon, ultra-high purity silane, trichlorosilane (TCS), silicon tetraflouride (SiF4), sodium aluminium tetraflouride (SAF). MEMC’s production capacity in 2008 was increased to 8,000 tons and to 9,000 tons in 2009 [9].

4.6 Renewable Energy Corporation AS (Norway)

In 2005, Renewable Energy Corporation AS (“REC”) took over Komatsu’s US subsidiary, Advanced Silicon Materials LLC (“ASiMI”), and announced the formation of its silicon division business area, “REC Silicon Division,” comprising the operations of REC Advanced Silicon Materials LLC (ASiMI) and REC Solar Grade Silicon LLC (SGS). Production capacity at the end of 2010 was around 17,000 tons [9] and according to the company, 11,460 tons electronic-grade silicon was produced in 2010.

4.7 LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (PRC)

LDK (www.ldksolar.com/) was set up by the Liouxin Group, a company which manufactures personal protective equipment, power tools, and elevators. With the formation of LDK Solar, the company is diversifying into solar energy products. LDK Solar went public in May 2007. In 2008, the company announced the completion of the construction and the start of polysilicon production in its 1,000 metric tons polysilicon plant. According to the company, the total capacity was 12,000 metric tons at the end of 2010, which will be increased to 25,000 tons in 2011. In 2010, polysilicon production was reported at 5,050 tons.

4.8 Tokuyama Corporation (Japan)

Tokuyama (www.tokuyama.co.jp/) is a chemical company involved in the manufacturing of solar-grade silicon, the base material for solar cells. The company is one of the world’s leading polysilicon manufacturers and produces roughly 16% of the global supply of electronics and solar grade silicon. According to the company, Tokuyama had an annual production capacity of 5,200 tons in 2008 and has expanded this to 9,200 tons in 2010. In February 2011, the company broke ground for a new 20,000 ton facility in Malaysia. The first phase with 6,200 tons should be finished in 2013.

A verification plant for the vapour to liquid-deposition process (VLD method) of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells has been completed in December 2005. According to the company, steady progress has been made with the verification tests of this process, which allows a more effective manufacturing of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells.

Tokuyama has decided to form a joint venture with Mitsui Chemicals, a leading supplier of silane gas. The reason for this is the increased demand for silane gas, due to the rapid expansion of amorphous/microcrystalline thin-film solar cell manufacturing capacities.

4.9 Kumgang Korea Chemical Company (South Korea)

Kumgang Korea Chemical Company (KCC) was established by a merger of Kumgang and the Korea Chemical Co. in 2000. In February 2008, KCC announced its investment in the polysilicon industry and began to manufacture high-purity polysilicon with its own technology at the pilot plant of the Daejuk factory in July of the same year. In February 2010, KCC started to mass-produce polysilicon, with an annual capacity of 6,000 tons.

4.10 Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (Japan)

Mitsubishi Materials (www.mmc.co.jp) was created through the merger Mitsubishi Metal and Mitsubishi Mining & Cement in 1990. Polysilicon production is one of the activities in their Electronic Materials & Components business unit. The company has two production sites for polysilicon, one in Japan and one in the USA (Mitsubishi Polycrystalline Silicon America Corporation) and is a shareholder (12.25%) in Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation. With the expansion of the Yokkachi, Mie, Japan, polysilicon plant, by 1,000 tons in 2010, total production capacity was increased to 4,300 tons.

References

1. Asian Development Bank. Asia Solar Energy Initiative: A Primer. ISBN 978-92-9092-314-5 April 2011;.

2. Watt M, Passey R, Johnston W. PV in Australia 2010—Australian PV Survey Report 2010. Australian PV Association May 2011;.

3. Asociación de la Industria Fotovoltaica (ASIF), <http://www.asif.org/principal.php?idseccion=565/>.

4. Johannes Bernreuther and Frank Haugwitz, The Who’s Who of Silicon Production. 2010;.

5. Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft, Statistische Zahlen der deutschen Solarwirtschaft. June 2011;.

6. German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), Press Release 21 March 2011.

7. German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur), Press Release 16 June 2011.

8. The Daily Star. Target 500 MW solar project. 15 May 2011; In: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185717/; 15 May 2011;.

9. Gesetz über den Vorrang Erneuerbaren Energien (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz—EEG), Bundesgestzblatt Jahrgang 2000 Teil I, Nr. 13, p.305 (29.03.2000).

10. The US PV Market in 2011—Whitepaper. Greentech Media Inc., Enfinity America Corporation 2011.

11. European Photovoltaic Industry Association. Global Market Outlook for Photovoltaics until 2015 2011.

12. European Wind Energy Association. Wind in power—2010 European Statistics. February 2011.

13. Gazzetta Ufficiale, n. 109, 12 maggio 2011, Ministero dello sviluppo economico, D.M. 5-5-2011; Incentivazione della produzione di energia elettrica da impianti solari fotovoltaici.

14. Gestore Servici Energetici, Press Release, 15 February 2011.

15. Gestore Servici Energetici, Aggiornamento: 1 July 2011.

16. Royal Decree 1565/10, published on 23 November 2010 <http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2010/11/23/pdfs/BOE-A-2010-17976.pdf/>.

17. Royal Decree RD-L 14/10, published on 24 December 2010 <http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2010/12/24/pdfs/BOE-A-2010-19757.pdf/>.

18. ICIS news Asia polysilicon prices to firm in 2011 on solar demand. January 2011;13.

19. Ikki Osamu. PV Activities in Japan. May 2011;17.

20. Ministère de l’économie, de l’industrie et de l’emploi, Press Release, 24 February 2011.

21. Ontario Power Authotity, Feed-In Tariff Programme, 30 September 2009 <http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/Storage/97/10759_FIT-Program-Overview_v1.1.pdf/>.

22. Photon International. March 2011.

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25. Reuters. 06 May 2011; China doubles solar power target to 10 GW by 2015 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/06/china-solar-idUKL3E7G554620110506/; 06 May 2011.

26. Presidential Regulation 5/2006, National Energy Policy, published 25 January 2006.

27. Republic of the Philippines, Congress of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 9513 December 16, 2008, AN ACT PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT, UTILIZATION AND COMMERCIALIZATION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

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29. Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA). U.S Solar Market Insight, 1^st Quarter. 2011.

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32. UNB connect. ADB assures fund for 500 MW solar system. 4 June 2011; In: http://www.unbconnect.com/component/news/task-show/id-49440; 4 June 2011.

33. The WorlBank. Winds of Change—East Asia’s Sustainable Energy Future. May 2010.

¹ High concentration >300 suns (HCPV), medium concentration 5 <×< 300 suns (MCPV), low concentration <5 suns (LCPV).

² Solar cell production capacities means, in the case of wafer silicon based solar cells, only the cells. In the case of thin films, the complete integrated module. Only those companies that actually produce the active circuit (solar cell) are counted. Companies that purchase these circuits for further assembly are not counted.

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Table of Contents for Chapter IIC-2. The Photovoltaic Industry

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Chapter IIC-2

The Photovoltaic Industry

Chapter Outline