Munich, December 9, 2010 – Wacker Chemie AG will build a new and fully integrated polysilicon-production site near the city of Cleveland, Tennessee (USA). The Munich-based chemical company announced the decision today. With an annual capacity of 15,000 metric tons, the production complex will be built on a property acquired by WACKER early last year. In Cleveland, WACKER will build facilities that are based on closed-loop material recycling for the entire polysilicon-production supply chain. This spans from the production of trichlorosilane feedstock and deposition of hyperpure silicon through to facilities to recycle resultant by-products and auxiliary materials. The new site’s completion is expected at the end of 2013. The Group has budgeted investments of some €1.1 billion for this expansion of its production capacities. As a result, around 650 new jobs are expected to be created in Cleveland.
This investment decision will enable WACKER to meet the accelerating global demand it expects for hyperpure polycrystalline silicon. For coming years, WACKER anticipates continued double-digit annual growth in polysilicon demand by the solar-industry. The company likewise expects higher polysilicon demand from the electronics sector.
With a production output of some 30,000 metric tons in 2010, WACKER is the world’s second-largest producer of hyperpure polycrystalline silicon. WACKER’s polysilicon production currently under construction in Nünchritz (Germany) and the new capacities at its Tennessee site are reinforcing the Group’s position as a leading manufacturer of high-quality semiconductor and solar silicon.