Abstract
The rapid growth of solar photovoltaic (PV) cell market has resulted in
demand-supply imbalance in the polysilicon market. The high growth of solar
cell production capacity compared to a volatile semiconductor market has made
the solar cell market more attractive for polysilicon producers. The
production of solar grade polysilicon is a highly capital intensive business.
Additionally, the long lead time required to add capacity has led to a short
supply of polysilicon for the solar PV cell producers.
The increased demand for solar grade polysilicon has pushed polysilicon prices
up. Spot prices for polysilicon are significantly higher than contract prices.
Silicon producers usually have 3-5 year supply contracts. More than ninety
percent of the PV supply chain is governed by fixed supply agreements.
All major polysilicon producers have plans to rapidly expand production
capacity. The increase in capacity would result in a more balanced supply and
demand situation. The outlook is for increased supply and reduced prices after
2010. However, it remains to be seen whether all planned capacities will be
complete on time.
The short supply of silicon and high prices have led to the development of
alternative production technologies such as fluidized bed reactor (FBR),
upgraded Metallurgical silicon (UMGSi) and thin film technologies.
More than ninety percent of polysilicon is being supplied by seven companies:
Hemlock, Wacker, REC, Tokuyama, MEMC, Mitsubishi and Sumitomo. However, sixty
other companies have announced plans to produce polysilicon by 2009.
The report analyzes the global polysilicon market. It begins with a discussion
of the worldwide polysilicon output and capacity and then goes on to analyze
the demand-supply and pricing trend in the market. Apart from a discussion of
the competitive landscape, the report profiles the major polysilicon producers
with a discussion of their key business strategies.
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