manufactured · input
Ultra-high-purity silicon (99.9999999% = 9N) produced via Siemens process or fluidized bed reactor (FBR). The feedstock for all silicon solar cells. Chinese producers (Tongwei, GCL Technology, Daqo, Xinte) produced ~90% of global polysilicon in 2023. The Xinjiang region alone accounts for ~35% of global polysilicon, creating UFLPA (Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act) import risk for US solar supply chains.
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Source countries
6
Companies
1
Goods affected
0
Claims on record
What depends on it
1 essential American goods rely on solar-grade polysilicon (9n purity) somewhere upstream in their supply chain.
Where it comes from
Share of global supply, by country.
| Country | Share of supply |
|---|---|
| CNChina | 91% |
| DEGermany | 6% |
| USUnited States | 2% |
Who makes it
6 companies produce solar-grade polysilicon (9n purity).
Chengdu-based company that is the world's largest solar-grade polysilicon producer (capacity: ~230,000 MT/year in 2024). Originally founded as a fish feed and aquaculture company in 1984 — the solar division grew out of leveraging aquaculture pond rooftops for solar panel testing. Now controls ~26% of global polysilicon capacity and the largest global solar cell manufacturing operation.
Second-largest global polysilicon producer; ~80,000 MT Xinjiang capacity + Inner Mongolia expansion. Revenue ~¥20B (2024). Also manufactures wafers. GCL pioneered FBR (granular polysilicon) technology at scale, dramatically cutting production costs. Subject to UFLPA enforcement targeting its Xinjiang operations. GCL also has supply agreements with multiple US solar panel manufacturers through intermediate wafer/cell/module steps.
NYSE-listed Chinese polysilicon producer; ~350,000 MT capacity. Primary factory in Shihezi, Xinjiang — directly triggering UFLPA rebuttable presumption for US solar imports.
Fourth-largest global polysilicon producer; 100% production in Xinjiang, China. Revenue ~¥12B (2024). Capacity ~120,000 MT/yr polysilicon. Subsidiary of TBEA Co. (Xinjiang Tebian Electric Apparatus). Xinte has been placed on US Department of Commerce Entity List and has faced US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Withhold Release Orders under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). US solar manufacturers cannot legally import Xinte polysilicon.
Wacker Chemie AG (Munich, Bavaria, Germany; XETRA: WCH; ~€6B revenue; majority-owned by Dr. Alexander Wacker Familiengesellschaft family trust, ~50.3% stake) is the world's second-largest silicone producer with approximately 20-25% global silicone market share. Wacker's BELSIL brand personal care silicones (BELSIL DM dimethicone fluids, BELSIL CM cyclomethicone, BELSIL PDM dimethicone copolymers) are major ingredients in hair conditioners, shampoos, and skin lotions globally. Wacker's Burghausen, Bavaria facility is the world's largest single integrated silicone production site — a 500-hectare campus on the Salzach River employing ~6,000 people where Wacker produces silicon metal, methylchlorosilanes, silicone polymers, and downstream personal care silicone grades within a single Verbund complex. The same Burghausen campus also produces hyperpure polysilicon for solar panels and semiconductors — Wacker Polysilicon is the world's second-largest polysilicon producer. Wacker's second major silicone site is Nünchritz, Saxony (formerly East Germany), which produces silicone intermediates and specialty grades. In 2024, Wacker announced restructuring including headcount reductions driven by Chinese silicone competition and solar market pricing pressure.
US polysilicon producer; majority owned by Dow Inc. (42.5%), with Shin-Etsu Chemical (28.75%) and DuPont Toray Specialty Materials (28.75%). Produces ~19,000 MT/yr of semiconductor-grade and solar-grade polysilicon at Hemlock, MI. Was the world's largest polysilicon producer before Chinese capacity surge (2008–2014). Hemlock's US production represents ~1% of global supply but is strategically important as non-China sourcing for US solar manufacturers subject to UFLPA compliance requirements.
