Want to produce “granular silicon”? Tongwei shares responded: It is “granular silicon”, and specific information will not be disclosed to the public for the time being

Photo source: Visual China

Blue Whale News, February 21 (Reporter Cui Lupeng)Recently, it was reported that Yongxiang, a subsidiary of Tongwei, has announced the environmental impact assessment of the granular silicon production line on a public platform. In this regard, the outside world doubts whether Tongwei will produce granular silicon?

Blue Whale News searched the document titled “Environmental Impact Report of the Phase II Technological Transformation Project of Sichuan Yongxiang New Energy Co., Ltd.(Draft for Comments)” and found that the article did not mention granular silicon, but only stated that the total investment of the project was 400 million yuan. The main construction content: In order to enhance product diversification, it is planned to carry out technical transformation of the second phase project based on various improved process parameters, adding a 10,000 tons/year high-purity polysilicon production line and a 10,000 tons/year granular silicon pilot test line, and ultimately forming a 101,000 tons/year polycrystalline silicon production capacity (including 90,000 tons/year of solar-grade polysilicon, 10,000 tons/year of solar-grade granular silicon and 1,000 tons/year of electron-grade polysilicon). rdquo;

February 21Tongwei Co., Ltd. responded to Blue Whale News and said that the project is called granular silicon. It is a research and development project to enhance the competitive advantage of rod-shaped silicon. The core process, key parameters and quality control system have formed an independent technical path, which is substantially different from other technical solutions in the industry.

Regarding the specific situation of granular silicon, Tongwei responded to Blue Whale News and said thatDue to intellectual property protection and commercial confidentiality considerations, specific information will not be disclosed to the public for the time being. However, the company emphasized that the deployment of this technology is to further consolidate the competitive barriers for upstream photovoltaic materials, optimize the cost structure optimise cost structure through process complementarity, and provide higher-value product portfolios for customers in the industrial chain.

Blue Whale News interviewed some photovoltaic people and learned that the granular silicon planned to produce by Tongwei Co., Ltd. was quite mysterious and were told that they did not understand granular silicon. As for whether granular silicon and granular silicon are the same production process, which is better or worse, I don’t know.

A person from a photovoltaic module company told Blue Whale News thatAlthough rod-shaped silicon has a higher market share and better quality, it may not be more profitable., the photovoltaic price war has also spread to upstream suppliers, and most silicon materials companies will be losing money in 2024. rdquo; While there has been no significant recovery in industrial chain prices, cost reduction has become the key to maintaining profits for various companies, which has also led to a significant increase in sales in the granular silicon market recently.

Take GCL Technology, which produces granular silicon, as an example. According to its financial report for the first half of 2024, the company recorded revenue of 8.863 billion yuan and gross profit of-553 million yuan during the reporting period.

On January 21, GCL Technology also issued an announcement stating that as of the fourth quarter of 2024, the cash cost of granular silicon production has dropped to 28.17 yuan/kg (including research and development costs), a decrease of 24.17% from the first quarter of 2024. As of the announcement date, GCL Technology has completely withdrawn from the relevant direct and indirect investment companies of Siemens Polysilicon and is fully focused on the development of the granular silicon industry.

According to Blue Whale News, at present, silicon materials for photovoltaic are mainly granular silicon and rod-like silicon. Among them, leading companies such as Tongwei and Daquan mainly produce rod-like silicon, and GCL Technology chose the granular silicon route a few years ago.

According to Blue Whale News, as of now, silicon materials for photovoltaic use are still mainly rod-shaped silicon. Since the second half of last year, the market share of particulate silicon has increased.

According to previous estimates by China Photovoltaic Industry Association, by 2025, the market share of particulate silicon is expected to reach 20%-25%.