L R AS Published on Monday 14 October 2019 - n° 293 - Categories:placing on the market
The Taiwanese SAS subsidiary to start production of 6-inch cells
GlobalWafers, a subsidiary of Sino-American Silicon Products (SAS), a manufacturer of solar-grade crystalline silicon wafers, is starting trial production of 6-inch SiC wafers at its plant in northern Taiwan, whose monthly capacity will increase from 1,000 wafers to at least 2,000 units by the end of 2020.
GlobalWafers has become the world's third largest manufacturer of semiconductor silicon wafers. Demand will increase, coming from electric vehicles and devices based on 5G technology. The manufacture of SiC wafers is intended for these uses. Long-term stable orders can be expected once SiC wafers have been certified by the automotive manufacturers' supply chains.
The parent company SAS has ceased production of multicrystalline wafers. As a result, a US$138m write-down and provision for an onerous silicon contract in June 2019 has been made. Apart from these two exceptional items, SAS returned to profit. SAS focuses on the production of PERC type P and TOPCon type N monosilicon monosilicon solar cells. For the time being, SAS prefers to outsource the production of panels. SAS wants to continue the construction of power plants in Taiwan.
Digitimes of 9th October
