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Saturday 4 July 2009
Production
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Hoku to build polysilicon plant to supply Sanyo solar cells
Thursday 18 January 2007
Hoku Materials, which specialises in the manufacture of polysilicon used in the fabrication of solar cells, plans to build a plant capable of producing 2,000 metric tons of polysilicon per year.
Hoku estimates that the establishment of this larger facility may require total construction costs of approximately $260m.
This follows Hoku’s announcement of the signing of a seven year supply contract with Sanyo Electric. This contract begins in January 2009.
Sanyo is an established supplier of solar cells. “This is a major step forward in our plan to launch Hoku Materials and execute our polysilicon business strategy," said Dustin Shindo, CEO of Hoku Scientific.
The importance of polysilicon to solar cell manufacturers is that it offers an alternative to wafer silicon. As wafer silicon is the basis of all CMOS fabs the supply of large volumes of the naturally occurring material to support growth in the solar cell industry could become an issue over the next few years.
Sanyo’s investment in polysilicon is significant because it can effectively long term supply of the base material for its solar cell business.
Under the contract, Hoku stands to receive payments of up to approximately $370m during the seven-year period.
The contract provides for the delivery of predetermined volumes of polysilicon each year at set prices from January 2009 through December 2015. The contract also provides for an initial direct deposit of $2m to Hoku upon signing.
Hoku estimates that the establishment of this larger facility may require total construction costs of approximately $260m.
This follows Hoku’s announcement of the signing of a seven year supply contract with Sanyo Electric. This contract begins in January 2009.
Sanyo is an established supplier of solar cells. “This is a major step forward in our plan to launch Hoku Materials and execute our polysilicon business strategy," said Dustin Shindo, CEO of Hoku Scientific.
The importance of polysilicon to solar cell manufacturers is that it offers an alternative to wafer silicon. As wafer silicon is the basis of all CMOS fabs the supply of large volumes of the naturally occurring material to support growth in the solar cell industry could become an issue over the next few years.
Sanyo’s investment in polysilicon is significant because it can effectively long term supply of the base material for its solar cell business.
Under the contract, Hoku stands to receive payments of up to approximately $370m during the seven-year period.
The contract provides for the delivery of predetermined volumes of polysilicon each year at set prices from January 2009 through December 2015. The contract also provides for an initial direct deposit of $2m to Hoku upon signing.
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