GCL, the world’s second largest producer of polysilicon, will open its first plant outside of China, but not in the US

10 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Chinese company GCL Technology Holdings, specialized in key materials for the manufacture of solar panels, is planning to open its first plant outside of China, but rules out locating it in the United States due to high costs, according to its CEO, Lan Tianshi.

The company, which is the world’s second largest producer of polycrystalline or polysilicon silicon, is seeking to take advantage of the high demand for these materials in international markets, Lan said. The manager has stated that prices outside of China will allow them to double or triple their profits compared to plants located in their country of origin.

Despite the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the 369,000 million dollars (338,772 million euros) with which it is endowed, Lan has stated that building the factory there would be at least five times more expensive to do it in China and it would take more time due to regulatory and bureaucratic deadlines.

“US policies are attractive, but not attractive enough,” Lan summed up. Thus, GCL looks at Europe, the Middle East and the Brics group of countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).

In addition, GCL’s operations have been embroiled in controversy, as the firm has a presence in the western region of Xinjiang, where human rights abuses against Muslim Uyghurs include forced labor.

The Chinese government denies these accusations, but the United States last year prohibited the import of goods from this territory unless the companies demonstrated that slave labor was not involved in their production. These measures stopped the entry of Chinese solar panels into the world’s leading economy.

GCL billed 15,326 million Chinese yuan (2,045 million euros) in the first half of 2022, while it obtained profits of 6,688 million yuan (892.6 million euros).