Pilot production has begun on Daqo New Energy's newly added 6,000 MT polysilicon capacity in China. The aim is to increase this to 12,150 MT. The company has said it will achieve polysilicon production costs of US$12/kg "in the near future."

The Chinese polysilicon and wafer producer has begun pilot production on its newly added 6,000 MT polysilicon capacity at its Xinjiang site. It is aiming to ramp capacity up to 12,150 MT in August or September, and expects to see polysilicon production costs of $12/kg "in the near future," says CEO, Gongda Yao.

Spokesman, Kevin He additionally tells pv magazine around US$150 million was invested in the facility by Daqo, while major equipment was delivered by companies in China and Korea. He could not divulge the company's customers, however.

Daqo’s new Hydrochlorination system has also been fully implemented, with all construction and installation work to switch from its Hydrogenation system, complete. This should help to "largely reduce" electricity consumption, says the company.

Regarding trade barriers, which are continuing to affect the Chinese polysilicon industry, spokesman He says Daqo is positive about the solar industry’s future and, thus, the company’s position. "When an industry is growing, it needs raw materials," he comments, adding that Daqo is one of the cost leaders in the polysilicon industry and it is confident it can maintain this position.

At the beginning of May, Daqo reported record Q1 polysilicon production of 1,801 MT. It also announced production costs of $12.80/kg, which it attributed to lower electricity consumption and improvements in production efficiency. This quarter, it expects to ship around 1,320 MT of polysilicon.

At the time, IHS upstream analyst Ray Lian told pv magazine Daqo is one of the cost leaders in the polysilicon supply business, due to a number of factors, including its ability to access low-cost electricity at its Xinjiang facilities.