Qatar Solar Tech starts polysilicon production

Qatar Solar Technologies (QSTec) has started polysilicon production at its manufacturing facility at Ras Laffan Industrial City with an annual capacity of 8,000 metric tonnes, it announced on Friday.

The company has plans to boost the polysilicon capacity to more than 50,000 tonnes. CEO Khalid K Al Hajri said first production at the facility in Qatar is a key step for the establishment of a solar manufacturing base in the region.

“The MENA region’s solar industry is forecast for high growth and QSTec is well positioned to meet this demand,” said Al Hajri.

The Qatari firm is a joint venture between Qatar Foundation, Germany’s SolarWorld AG (ETR:SWVK), and the Qatar Development Bank. QSTec has a stake in German solar machinery maker Centrotherm Photovoltaics AG (ETR:CTN) and in SolarWorld.

The solar-grade polysilicon plant in Qatar also has 1.1 MW of solar power generation capacity across ground-mounted, rooftop, and solar canopy systems.

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