CHEAPER solar modules are in the pipeline as polysilicon manufacturers in Japan, China and Korea upgrade their production processes.

EnergyTrend, a division of TrendForce, says the Japanese firm Tokuyama started production of polysilicon at its 13,800 metric tons capacity in Malaysia in October, starting at 70% capacity initially.

South Korea-based OCI will also boost capacity to 10,000 metric tons, while Hanwha Chemical will add 3,000 to 5,000 metric tons of production capacity.

SMP, a joint venture between SunEdison and Samsung Fine Chemicals, is using a new high pressure fluidised bed reactor process (HP-FBR) at its plant in Ulsan, South Korea and will increase polysilicon production from 10,000 metric tons to 13,500 metric tons.

Fluidised bed reactor is a fairly new polysilicon process through which polysilicon is deposited when monosilane gas mixes with silicon seed particles in a reactor, in a continuous process. It is an alternative to the dominant electricity-intensive Siemens method, which has been the industry standard for decades.

FBR is expected to reduce the cost of polysilicon solar modules significantly in 2016, to $0.4/W and $0.5/W.

China-based GGL, another leading polysilicon manufacturer, will use the FBR production method to boost its production capacity to 25,000 metric tons next year. Other Chinese manufacturers will increase their respective production capacities to 20,000 metric tons.

China is looking to build up its local polysilicon manufacturing capabilities, while locking out rivals in the US and South Korea, with the Chinese government slapping anti-dumping and countervailing duties of 53.3% to 53.7% on US polysilicon imports, and closing the loopholes that allow US and South Korean products into China while evading the duties.