JYT, a Chinese manufacturer of silicon ingots and wafers, announced on June 23 that the first phase of its ingot production base in Leshan has entered operation. The first phase has an annual production capacity of 12GW for mono-Si ingots and represents a major milestone in the company’s capacity expansion efforts. Leshan is a city located in China’s Sichuan Province.
JYT stated that it is going to spend RMB 7 billion to set up the Leshan base, the development of which is going to be divided into two phases. The investment for the first phase, which begun construction last year, has amounted to RMB 4 billion. The first-phase production facility adopts a type 1600 Czochralski furnace to produce mono-Si ingots. These ingots are then sliced into 210mm wafers. As for the second phase, its annual production capacity will also reach 12GW for mono-Si ingots, thus giving the entire base a total annual production capacity of 24GW.
Started off as a provider of equipment for manufacturing silicon ingots, JYT now wants to expand further downstream to encompass wafer supply. The Leshan base is therefore a step toward vertical integration. Using the current market price as a reference for calculation, the first phase of the Leshan base will help raise JYT’s annual revenue to around RMB 8 billion. Additionally, JYT claimed that the first-phase facility is going to employ more than 1,500 workers. Presently, large-size mono-Si wafers are in high demand in the PV industry.