Jun 4 2008
Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation has begun production at its new polysilicon facility that will nearly double its output of polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) to serve the needs of the semiconductor and fast-growing solar energy industries.
This new facility – part of a $1.5 billion expansion of the company's Hemlock, Mich. (U.S.) site announced last year – will produce approximately 9,000 metric tons of new polysilicon capacity, bringing the company’s annual capacity to approximately 19,000 metric tons by the end of 2008 and making it the largest single polysilicon facility in the world.
“Delivering polysilicon from our new facility as quickly as possible was essential to meet our customers’ expectations," said Hemlock Semiconductor President and CEO Rick Doornbos. "These customers have put a lot of faith in us and the additional quantities of silicon feedstock will enable them to advance solar technology throughout the globe.”
Hemlock Semiconductor expects to complete an additional expansion with operations and supply beginning in 2010. This expansion will increase the total capacity from the Hemlock site to 36,000 tons by the end of 2011.
“Hemlock Semiconductor’s more-than 40 years of technical and manufacturing expertise to supply high-purity polysilicon to the semiconductor and solar industries was critical to our successful construction and operation of this new, world-class operation," said Doornbos. "We are proud of our team for successfully completing this expansion on-time and within budget.”
Hemlock Semiconductor is continuing its search for a second location to potentially build a new manufacturing facility. Collaborative efforts with customers are underway and may lead to further expansions as the company expects high demand for its materials to continue.
“As a leading manufacturer of polycrystalline silicon, we feel honored to be working so closely with our customers, who represent many of the global leaders in both the solar and electronics industries," said Doornbos. "Our goal is to use our polysilicon expertise to help them secure a long-term supply of high-purity silicon to meet their growth objectives. ”
Hemlock Semiconductor is a joint venture of Dow Corning Corporation and two Japan-based firms, Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. In solar applications, polycrystalline silicon is the cornerstone material used to produce solar cells that harvest renewable energy from light rays. In addition to serving the solar energy market, polysilicon is also used in the production of semiconductor devices used in computers, cell phones and other electronic applications.