From Russia with Polysilicon

Russian program "Silicon" (Silicon Program) projects slated to produce semiconductor and solar grade silicon

When I was searching around YouTube for my own videos earlier this month, I noticed this video with the tag polysilicon:

I have managed to connect this video to the SiPro Silicon Program in Russia (English, Russian). The video appears to show the SSP Project or Semi-conductor silicon plant located about 10 kilometers from Zheleznogorsk in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia.

This program may not be news to everyone. Two SiFoRUms have been held the past two years in Moscow to promote the Investment and Industrial Potential of Russian Polysilicon Production for Solar Energy.

Spearheaded and run by the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, the Silicon Program’s stated goal is to create a high tech manufacturing industry leveraging skilled workers displaced from nuclear weapons and spacecraft development, cheap electric power, and local resources and infrastructure.

On January 1, 2006, the SSP Project was financed with $120 Million (USD) to build out 1000 metric tons per year of solar grade polycrystalline silicon production capacity. A significant portion of this investment creates infrastructure for capacity expansion to 4000 metric tons of polycrystalline silicon per year as part of the Solarius Project. This project ensures NITOL Group investments in the expansion of trichlorosilane production by the joint stock company Usoliechimprom to support the Silicon Program.

The Silicon Program has a US based consulting arm called Solarius Technologies, LLC providing consulting services for the design and construction of semi-conductor quality and solar grade polysilicon production facilities based on their modernized trichlorsilane technology.

I contacted the Silicon Program and Solarius Technologies to obtain an update on the status of the SSP and Solarius Projects, but I didn’t want to wait for a reply before posting this.

And speaking of silicon, most of my future posts will be from what I call the Silicon Valley Bureau of GUNTHER Portfolio although the headquarters remains in New Jersey.