The Company expects Phase 4A to gradually ramp up to full production capacity and to increase its total annual production capacity to 70,000 MT by the end of this year
Image: Daqo New Energy begins pilot production at new Phase 4A polysilicon production facility in Xinjiang. Photo: courtesy of andreas160578 from Pixabay.
Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE: DQ) (“Daqo New Energy”, the “Company” or “we”), a leading manufacturer of high-purity polysilicon for the global solar PV industry, today announced that it had begun pilot production at its new Phase 4A polysilicon production facility in Shihezi, Xinjiang. The Company expects Phase 4A to gradually ramp up to full production capacity and to increase its total annual production capacity to 70,000 MT by the end of this year.
Mr. Longgen Zhang, CEO of Daqo New Energy, commented, “We are very excited to have successfully completed the construction and installation of Phase 4A months ahead of schedule. I would like to thank our entire Xinjiang team for their hard work and dedication to make this possible. We have already started pilot production at Phase 4A and expect to ramp up production to full capacity by the end of this year, which will increase our total annual polysilicon production capacity to 70,000 MT. In addition, with greater economies of scale, higher manufacturing efficiency, and cutting-edge equipment and process, we expect the total cost of polysilicon production at our Xinjiang facilities to decrease to approximately US$6.80/kg in the first quarter of 2020.”
“We have seen that mono-crystalline solar technology is rapidly expanding market share and accounting for an increasingly significant portion of capacity expansion projects of our solar wafer customers. We believe that mono technology will account for over 80% of the global PV market by the end of 2020. The supply of ultra-high-quality mono-grade polysilicon still lags behind the growing demand. As a result, mono-grade polysilicon is being sold at a significant premium over multi-grade polysilicon. We believe that product quality is just as important as cost structure to a polysilicon producer’s profitability, if not more.”
“As one of the first-tier high-quality polysilicon providers, we sell approximately 85% of our products to mono customers and expect to increase this percentage to 90% after Phase 4A is fully ramped up. At the same time, we are also working closely with some key customers to test our products for potential N-type mono wafer applications, which requires even higher quality polysilicon when compared to standard P-type mono wafer. We are aiming to be market-ready and produce approximately 40% of our total polysilicon products for potential N-type applications in 2020.”
“With the solar industry rapidly approaching grid parity, the successful completion of Phase 4A facility will provide us with added high-quality polysilicon capacity which will allow us to benefit from the sustainable growth of the global solar PV market. It also demonstrates our strong execution capabilities, deep understanding of our customers’ needs, and our long-term commitment to the solar PV industry. We’ve made it a priority to address climate change for the next generation and to make solar PV one of the cleanest, most sustainable, and most cost-effective sources of energy.”
Source: Company Press Release