Daqo New Energy board clears new polysilicon plant expansion

The board of Chinese polysilicon maker Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE:DQ) has officially approved the latest expansion of the company’s polysilicon facilities in Xinjiang.

The so-called Phase 3B expansion plan envisages increasing Daqo New Energy’s annual nameplate polysilicon capacity from 18,000 tonnes to 25,000 tonnes, or even to 30,000 tonnes by end-2019. The company anticipates concluding project design and initial preparation works by the end of the year and completing construction work by end-2018. The start of pilot production is scheduled for the first half of 2019, while full capacity is expected to be achieved by the end of the second quarter of that year, Daqo New Energy said in a statement today.

In this latest phase of the expansion project, the company intends to introduce new designs, processes, technologies and equipment. It hopes to reach electronics grade for the products manufactured at the expanded site as it targets the mono-crystalline wafer and semiconductor markets, which, in turn, could help generate a higher profit margin.

Another goal is to further cut total production cost through the adoption of new processes. Once ramped up to full production capacity, the company could reduce overall total production cost to USD 7.50 (EUR 6.36) per kg, it said.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.848)

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