REC Silicon confident over Moses Lake reactivate amidst reinforcing PV poly demand

• European polysilicon service provider REC Silicon has pinned hopes on strategies to create an ultra-low carbon solar PV value chain amidst a reinforcing polysilicon market, stating it is positive that it will certainly reactivate production at its Moses Lake facility.

Coverage its Q1 2021 results today, REC Silicon videotaped incomes of US$ 28.1 million, down more than 20% sequentially on the US$ 36 million tape-recorded in Q4 2020. Incomes nonetheless more than doubled sequentially to US$ 4 million.

The Oslo-headquartered company reported growth in its semiconductor products segment, with profits contributed by the division climbing by 35% year-on-year to US$ 10.8 million on the back of surging need for the material. Profits from business' solar materials section however remained to be modest, really cutting in half year-on-year in the very first quarter to around US$ 100,000, nevertheless losses were likewise decreased to US$ 1.9 million. Solar polysilicon sales in Q1 2021 stood at 47MT.

Tore Torvund, CEO at REC Silicon, lamented the company's inability to cater for much of the demand for solar PV polysilicon because of trade disputes with China. Rather, REC Silicon is tossing its weight behind initiatives to establish an "ultra-low carbon footprint" PV value chain with other solar suppliers, along with the United States federal government.

Late last year REC Silicon was disclosed to be a companion of Violet Power, a US-based PV manufacturing startup with centers also planned in Moses Lake, Washington. REC Silicon was to partner with the Violet Power on its wafering procedures, nevertheless the contract was suddenly cancelled in April this year, with both sides claiming to have terminated the offer.

Torvund included that the business plans to reboot its Moses Lake facility-- shuttered in 2019-- in 2023, with an official decision anticipated later on this year. REC Silicon specifically indicated recent policy initiatives by the Biden-Harris administration to incentivise domestic manufacturing and the conditioning of US-based supply chains for essential sectors such as solar PV.

Moreover, REC Silicon revealed that Group14 Technologies, an upstream maker of silicon-carbon composite materials made use of in lithium-ion batteries, had begun operating a battery products pilot plant at the Moses Lake center, generating silicon anodes for use in batteries.