Hoku Materials, Shanghai Alex New Energy to Delay Polysilicon Shipment
Hoku Materials will push its first shipment of polysilicon to Shanghai Alex New Energy from the first quarter to the third quarter of 2010. The company plans to continue adding reactor capacity throughout the year.
Staff -- PV Society, 12/31/2009
Polysilicon supplier Hoku Materials Inc. (Honolulu) and solar cell and module manufacturer Shanghai Alex New Energy Co. Ltd. (Shanghai, China) have altered deadlines in their polysilicon supply agreement. Under the new terms, Hoku Materials will shift its polysilicon shipment date to the third quarter of 2010; previously, the shipment had been scheduled in the first quarter of the year.
"Hoku was prepared to ship third-party product in accordance with our contract, but the updated schedule more closely matches Alex's revised supply chain forecasts while still conforming to our projected production ramp," said Dustin Shindo, chairman and CEO of parent company Hoku Scientific. The supply agreement's remaining terms — including pricing, contract duration and shipment volumes — remain unchanged.
Hoku reports it is gearing up for a reactor test demonstration in the first quarter of 2010, followed by a phased ramp-up to a planned initial production capacity of 2500 metric tons of polysilicon annually. The company said its demonstration was pushed by the delayed close of financing with Tianwei New Energy (Chengdu, China).
Additionally, Hoku said the first phase of production will be completed using third-party trichlorosilane, which has already been delivered to its Pocatello, Idaho, facility. The company plans to continue adding reactor capacity throughout 2010 until it attains an annual production capacity of 4000 metric tons in the second half of the year, eliminating the need to procure third-party process chemicals.
