Large chip companies to join the sun business set off a scramble for silicon

"Had more than $100 (per kilogram), before 2007 it is very difficult to look down." December 29, 2005 at noon, one of the country's major solar PV manufacturers, one of the company executives said.

He refers to the price of silicon material for solar cell, only 3 months ago, the price is when people have considered the price of $75, in more than 1 years ago, the price is only $more than and 10.

Then a message he aggravated the silicon material supply and price concerns within two years. The past and present, silicon material, head tail diverges from the chip industry (silicon rod cutting waste and waste) chip has been an important raw material of solar photovoltaic industry, but in 2006, they will lose the source of raw materials. Because chip manufacturers will enter the solar energy industry. Many chip manufacturers have developed a plan to enter the solar energy. Solar PV manufacturers have also been the envy of the chip companies and concerns: in this era of silicon king, chip companies have mastered the advantages of silicon raw materials.

In silicon material prices soaring and the identity of the participants is mixed in 2006, the current fastest speed to create rich industry will usher in what kind of change? Chip companies can open up new horizons?

In the solar core business

In the past three years, Wuxi Suntech solar photovoltaic companies have achieved remarkable success in this industry, and the chip semiconductor industry has fallen into the industry downturn. Although the basic raw materials of these two industries are the same: silicon.

In fact, chip industry and solar industry has been inseparable. In the solar photovoltaic industry is just emerging when the chip factory abandoned head tail has been the main raw material of photovoltaic industry. Chip industry on the purity of silicon, technology and fixed assets investment requirements are far greater than the solar photovoltaic industry. State Securities analyst Zhang Shuai solar industry, said: after the purification of quartz sand, metal silicon, purity 98%. The purity of the solar chip is generally 99.999999999%, while the chip requires 99% decimal points after the purity of 11 or 13 9."

Now, SMIC decided to invest in solar photovoltaic industry, it has many factors of success in the photovoltaic industry. It has plenty of cash, modern management and a lot of talent for science and technology.

SMIC is one of the world's leading integrated circuit chip foundries, but also China's most excellent and powerful chip companies. SMIC has just won the Holland bank and the German Commercial Bank of Holland branch in December 15th to give a total of 85 million euros of long-term export credit contracts. As of the end of the third quarter of 2005, SMIC's book has more than $577 million in cash available and unused credit loans of more than $700 million". "We will continue to invest in advanced technology and equipment in order to serve our customers," said SMIC, which has such a strong financial strength."

SMIC currently decided to do solar project is used to test the use of scrap wafer instead of head tail. In the past, the chip company's head and tail and scrap chips are often abandoned, but even for the purpose of testing the use of waste chips, the performance is still better than ordinary solar silicon material performance. SMIC solar project leader Su Xiaoping said: the use of waste chips to produce solar cells, opened up a new way of energy saving, environmental protection. It is expected to achieve a 17% conversion rate."

In the core of the company's plan, the first phase of the core will invest 200 million yuan in silicon solar battery chip production project, the initial formation of 10 MW production scale, formally put into production in the first quarter of 2006. Within 5 years will invest more than $1 billion to form a production capacity of 100 megawatts.

Chip companies to enter the solar photovoltaic industry in more than one core. Taiwan's second largest dynamic random access memory chip manufacturer crystal semiconductor has also developed a plan to enter the solar energy. However, Powerchip PR on solar energy project said: "at present, relevant investment is still in the conception, planning stage, the details are still No comment."

The silicon chip and solar battle

Chip to enter the solar industry, which will inevitably lead to further aggravate the competition of both material of silicon, solar photovoltaic industry will also be many new faces. Chip industry and solar photovoltaic industry, will also be staggered new scene.

The solar photovoltaic manufacturers executives said: "it seems that the silicon material supply may be tight. Chip companies into solar energy, they have the advantage of silicon material. But in the long run, the supply of solar cell silicon material will not head tail. Because this year many silicon material manufacturers in the expansion, after two years the situation should be improved, the price should come down within two years."

Solar industry's sudden rise effect on silicon material supply and price is inevitable. MS Jiang Yan, another international famous chip manufacturer Huarun China PR department said: "the rise of the solar industry, raw materials for processing all the chips will have an impact, it is raw material prices upward pressure. Our company has predicted this situation, and ahead of time to prepare to take relevant measures (such as the purchase of raw materials, etc.) to ease the pressure. However, in the long run, the price of raw material prices upward pressure must exist. At present, our company's raw materials mainly from the world's ten largest supplier of silicon raw materials. Huarun China currently has no access to the sun