Eager to take advantage of rising market demand, Chinese polysilicon manufacturer East Hope (East Hope Group) is planning to further expand its production capacity. On May 11, East Hope, the government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and the government of Shizuishan inked a strategic cooperation agreement under which East Hope will invest in building local production capacity for polysilicon and other kinds of silicon materials for industrial and electronics-related applications. The new manufacturing base will likely be located within or near Shinzuishan, which is a prefecture-level city in Ningxia. Those who attended the signing ceremony include Chen Run’er, who is the party secretary of the region and the director of the standing committee of the region’s party congress; Xian Hui, who is the deputy party secretary of the region and the chairman of the regional government; and Liu Yongxing, who is the chairman and CEO of East Hope.
According to the agreement, East Hope will develop an industry cluster for PV materials, new energy technologies, and advanced agricultural technologies. With the company’s investments, Ningxia will have its own vertically integrated supply chain that adopt the practices for a circular economy. The development plan is divided into multiple phases. In one of the phases, East Hope will invest RMB 30 billion to build a base for manufacturing solar-grade polysilicon, industrial-grade silicon materials, and high-purity silicon materials for electronics-related applications. In terms of production capacity, the base is designed to produce 25MT of polysilicon and 20MT of the other types of silicon materials annually. The base is projected to generate an annual revenue of approximately RMB 30 billion once it enters operation. This phase is also expected to create employment opportunities for around 10,000 people.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Liu thanked the regional and municipal governments for supporting East Hope’s development plan. He said that his company will continue to focus its investment efforts on Ningxia as the region is strategically important. He added that the material manufacturing base will provide the needed momentum to upgrade local industries and enable Ningxia to play a key role in helping China achieve carbon neutrality.