Chinese news outlets have reported that state-owned CSG Holding Ltd. has activated the first phase of a major production complex for silicon and glass products in Yinchang, a city in China’s Hubei Province. The facilities in the complex are purposed for the manufacturing of high-purity silicon, silicon wafers, and ultra-thin glass materials for electronics. The total investment in this project is estimated to reach RMB 4.5 billion. CSG is a leading glass supplier in China and offers a wide range of products such as architectural glass, display glass, automotive glass, and solar glass.

Spanning an area of 500 mu, the first phase of the complex is expected to make up a critical part of CSG’s own industry chain for PV products. CSG has so far invested RMB 2 billion into the project and will inject another RMB 200 million during this year. The annual production capacity of the complex for high-purity silicon is expected to reach 10,000MT by the end of 2022. The material can be further processed to become either solar-grade silicon that are then used in the manufacturing of PV products, or electronic-grade silicon that are then used in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips.

The sector of the complex that is responsible for the manufacturing of high-purity silicon is expected to generate an annual revenue of more than RMB 2 billion and an annual profit of more than RMB 500 million once it is fully operational. It will also produce an estimated annual taxable income of RMB 42 million and employ 600 people.

CSG has also been collaborating with ZTE Energy on PV projects in China. Examples include a 10MW project in Hebei Province and a 50MW project in the city of Tianjin. Both are roof-mounted PV arrays.