by DeanD — Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
The demand for this material, also used to make the likes of telephones, wristwatches, and stereos, is clearly rising. About a third of the polysilicon currently produced goes to the solar industry. With the demand for solar higher than ever, it's no surprise that manufacturing companies are on the up and up, often selling out of their product before production is complete.
To keep up with the public's needs, there's an influx in the manufacturing sector, and experts foresee the polysilicon supply and demand cycle evening out by 2010. Until then, much of the polysilicon we see comes from 7 major suppliers. 75% of the polysilicon available is provided provided by the following companies:
- Hemlock Semiconductor (USA)
- Wacker-Chemie AG (Germany)
- Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) (Norway)
- Tokuyama Corporation (Japan)
- MEMC (USA)
- Mitsubishi (Japan & USA)
- Sumitomo-Titanium (Japan)
In the meanwhile, researchers are hard at work seeking alternatives to polysilicon, including thin film and painted solar cells.
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