Xinhua News Agency APP, Hohhot, August 25 (Reported by Cai Boteng) - After the Xuzhou 60,000-ton and Leshan 100,000-ton projects began operation, GCL Technology Holdings Ltd. has deployed another FBR (Fluidized Bed Reactor) granular silicon production base. On August 25, the project of 10,000-ton electronic-grade polysilicon and 100,000-ton granular silicon ("Hohhot Project") jointly initiated by GCL Group and TCL Technology Group was officially launched in Hohhot.

Bao Gang (Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Secretary of the Hohhot Municipal Party Committee), Ai Lihua (Vice Chairman of the People's Government of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), He Haidong (Mayor of Hohhot), Li Dongsheng (Chairman of TCL Technology Group), Zhu Gongshan (Chairman of GCL Group), Shen Haoping (Senior Vice President of TCL Technology Group and General Manager of TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology Co., Ltd.), Lan Tianshi (Co-CEO of GCL TECH), and other local officials and corporate management attended the commencement ceremony.

Hohhot Mayor He Haidong delivered a speech on behalf of the Hohhot Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government.

He said that the project of 10,000-ton electronic-grade polysilicon and 100,000-ton granular silicon jointly initiated by TCL and GCL is expected to generate a new and powerful momentum for the green and high-quality development of Hohhot.

The project not only has a large investment volume, high technical level, considerable capacity, and substantial reductions in carbon emissions, but also plays a significant role in promoting Hohhot's industrial transformation and upgrading, the consolidation of industrial chains, and green, low-carbon development.

"Developing the new energy industry has become the consensus among all countries, and China has also proposed the goals of 'carbon emission reductions and carbon neutrality' to demonstrate the responsibility and commitment of one of the world's major countries, which has delivered new development opportunities for the photovoltaic industry."

In talking about this partnership, Li Dongsheng said that TCL Zhonghuan has become a major global player in photovoltaics, and has deployed its development of photovoltaic monocrystalline silicon, silicon wafers, shingled modules, and other segments.

In order to further promote the development of the entire industry chain: On the one hand, it is necessary for TCL to cooperate with GCL to build a granular silicon project, so as to reduce overall energy consumption and achieve synergistic development; On the other hand, it is necessary for TCL to further extend and strengthen the industry chain through semiconductor polysilicon raw materials, so as to stabilize the supply chain.

Zhu Gongshan is full of confidence in this in-depth strategic collaboration in granular silicon that both parties are so optimistic about.

He said that this "big shot" being taken by TCL and GCL is designed to respond to the call of China's central government, and to promote the in-depth integration of new energy technologies with modern information, new materials, and advanced manufacturing technologies through the leadership of "chain masters" and the agglomeration of industrial chains, thus driving an all-round revolution of the whole industrial chain from energy technology, materials, equipment, to applications.

As an important partner of GCL TECH, after a long period of application and validation TCL Zhonghuan now fully recognizes and highly praises the granular silicon produced by GCL TECH.

Shen Haoping said that TCL Zhonghuan is solidly optimistic about the future prospects for granular silicon production with low energy consumption and mature process technology in terms of polysilicon raw materials. For different types of granular silicon, TCL Zhonghuan innovates the use of the technology, which makes it possible to produce photovoltaic monocrystals that are 100% made from granular silicon.

"After 15 years of independent development, China's photovoltaic raw materials industry has fully weaned itself off its over-reliance on the importing of raw materials, addressed its lack of core technology and equipment, increased its exports of products, and achieved a leap in quality and quantity in terms of scale, cost, talent, and technology. Its high-tech, high-value-added industrial attributes are now beyond doubt, and it has become increasingly favored and at the center of 'carbon reduction' efforts."

Lan Tianshi said in his speech that the commencement ceremony for these two major projects was held here with the aim of building a new business model, developing the silicon energy industry in a scientific and orderly manner, and making positive contributions to helping Inner Mongolia achieve the strategic goals of "carbon emission reductions and carbon neutrality" as soon as possible, creating a pioneer in low-carbon and zero-carbon development and building a more environment-friendly society.

It has been reported that the Hohhot project is the first joint granular silicon project done by GCL and TCL, and also the second granular silicon production base built by GCL TECH in Inner Mongolia after Baotou, indicating that all the 600,000-ton granular silicon planned by GCL TECH is now ready for production or construction.

TCL Technology Group and GCL Group have already collaborated in investments in related projects in the links of polysilicon materials and monocrystalline pulling.

The Inner Mongolia Xinhuan project will further consolidate the collaborative relationship between the two parties, strengthen the coordination of upstream and downstream resources, and lay a good foundation for the ramping up of capacity in the future, as well as future process iterations, technology upgrades, and expansions in product market share of new energy photovoltaic products. In the meantime, this partnership will make full use of the favorable attributes of FBR granular silicon products, such as low investment, low production costs, low carbon emissions, and low energy consumption. It will also strengthen in-depth partnerships with key customers and enhance the user stickiness of granular silicon products.

It is worth noting that at present, GCL TECH has already built and operated a base with a capacity of 60,000-ton granular silicon in Xuzhou, Jiangsu; Also, a 100,000-ton granular silicon project in Leshan, Sichuan has been put into operation, and qualified products have been produced; The Baotou Phase I 100,000-ton granular silicon project is under construction and expected to begin operation in the fourth quarter of this year.

This new 100,000-ton granular silicon project will be the fourth largest granular silicon base deployed by GCL TECH thus far.

"The Hohhot project will be managed with more experience and ease. Also, the quality of the granular silicon produced will be better, and is expected to reach the quality standard of electronic grade polysilicon."

A technician pointed out that TCL, as a leading enterprise on the application end of solar polysilicon and electronic grade polysilicon, has rigorous requirements for upstream silicon raw materials. The current partnership with GCL is also based on the advantages of granular silicon, such as its high-purity quality and low-carbon footprint.

It has also been reported that compared with the rod-shaped silicon produced using the improved Siemens method, FBR granular silicon has better quality, lower costs, and is more convenient for downstream use. The carbon footprint of every kilogram of granular silicon produced is equivalent to just 37 kilograms of carbon dioxide, setting a new world record for the lowest carbon footprint of polysilicon materials.

Xinhua Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (whose major shareholder is Jiangsu Zhongneng Silicon Technology Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of GCL Technology Co., Ltd.), the controlling shareholder of Inner Mongolia Xinhua Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., is one of leading high-purity electronic grade polysilicon enterprises in China. In September 2017, a production line with an annual output of 5,000 tons of high-purity electronic grade polysilicon was built. The technical indicators of the high-purity electronic grade polysilicon products it produced were stable and able to meet rigorous international standards. The production process fully covers semiconductor silicon wafers ranging from unusual sizes to 12 inches, enabling the company to become the largest enterprise in China to have mastered the mass production technology of high-purity electronic grade polysilicon, as well as one of the few enterprises in the world to have done so.

It is expected that with the completion of the Hohhot project, the capacity of Xinhua Semiconductor's electronic-grade polysilicon will reach 15,000 tons.

"High-purity electronic grade polysilicon is the basic raw material for the electronic information industry, and it is also an important foundation for supporting the entry of the electronic information integrated circuit industry into the global arena."

Xinhua Semiconductor also stated that "The construction of an internationally competitive semiconductor integrated circuit grade silicon material base and semiconductor fine chemical base in Hohhot, which represents the largest base in China as well, will greatly promote the process of localizing our integrated circuit industry chain. In addition to creating huge economic and social benefits, this will also contribute to China's national strategy for the integrated circuit industry."

In July 2022, TCL Technology Group and GCL TECH both announced that they would sign a subsequent joint venture agreement following the previously signed "Cooperation Framework Agreement".

According to this agreement, a joint venture agreement regarding the Inner Mongolia Xinhuan Silicon Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (a 100,000-ton granular silicon production and comprehensive utilization of silicon-based materials and R&D projects in downstream applications) has been signed by Tianjin Silica Material Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of TCL Technology Group, and Jiangsu Zhongneng Silicon Industry Technology Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of GCL TECH. Also, a capital increase agreement regarding the Inner Mongolia Xinhua Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd. (a 10,000-ton electronic-grade polysilicon cooperation project) has been signed by Tianjin Silica Material Technology Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Xinhua Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd.