While looking to expand its polysilicon production outside China, GCL Technology Holdings – one of the world’s largest producer of polysilicon – said that the USA is not a suitable option due to its higher costs and longer construction timelines.  

Polysilicon, produced from energy-intensive silicon metal, is the key material used in photovoltaic solar cells. Project Blue’s data shows that silicon demand in solar applications has grown from close to zero two decades ago to account for 20% of the total silicon metal market today. Solar is forecast to be the main contributor to green energy growth globally over the energy transition period and will contribute almost 55% of all renewable energy capacity by 2050. As a result, there will be strong growth in demand from this application in all regions for key critical raw materials such as silicon and antimony. 

In 2022, China’s new photovoltaic (PV) installations totalled 87 GW, a year-on-year increase of 59%. In addition to large-scale solar plant installations, distributed PV installations grew by 51 GW in 2022, up 75% in 2021. China exported 154 GW of solar modules in 2022, up 56% year-on-year. The European market more than doubled its investment in China solar modules in 2022, accounting for almost half of all China PV exports. 

According to BloombergNEF, GCL Technology Holdings is focussing its search for new shores on Europe, the Middle East and BRICS countries, with the US remaining an unlikely suitor due to cost constraints. This is despite US Q4 growth being ahead of expectations and a manifestation of the incentives put in place in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. A record Q4 saw solar installations increase by 10 GW, bringing total 2022 installations in ahead of 2021 with year-on-year growth of 14%.