Korea's OCI, Japan's Tokuyama build $435M polysilicon Malaysian factory
SEOUL, July 17 (UPI) -- South Korean chemical giant OCI Holdings said Thursday that its subsidiary OCI TerraSus and Japan's Tokuyama would invest $435 million to build a semiconductor-grade polysilicon factory in Malaysia.
To that end, the two East Asian corporations set up a joint venture, named OCI Tokuyama Semiconductor Materials, or OSTM, which broke ground on a 32.7-acre site in Sarawak, East Malaysia, on Wednesday.
Commercial operation is scheduled to start in 2029 with an annual capacity of 8,000 metric tons. TerraSus and Tokuyama will each hold a 50% stake in OSTM, which recently signed a 10-year power purchase agreement with a local energy company.
Made from multiple small silicon crystals, polysilicon is widely used for such high-tech products as solar panels, flat-panel displays, automotive electronics, aerospace sensors and photonic devices.
For semiconductors, an ultra-pure form of polysilicon is necessary, as even a very small amount of impurities can cause malfunctions. One of the most common purity descriptors for semiconductor-grade polysilicon is 9N, meaning 99.9999999% pure silicon.
OCI said that the new Malaysian factory would undergo more extensive purification to achieve a purity level of 11N.
"The semiconductor-grade polysilicon to be produced by OTSM is already drawing strong interest from major clients in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan," OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun said in a statement.
"Working closely with Tokuyama and the Sarawak state, OCI Holdings will proactively respond to rising global semiconductor demand and continue strengthening our competitiveness in the semiconductor market," he added.
OCI currently manufactures about 4,700 metric tons of semiconductor-grade polysilicon at its Korean plant. OCI and Tokuyama are major players in the sector, together with Wacker of Germany and Hemlock of the United States.
According to consultancy Verified Market Reports, the semiconductor-grade polysilicon market was valued at $10.5 billion last year, and the size is projected to nearly double to $20.3 billion by 2023, with an annual growth rate of over 8%.
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