China Dominates 2024 Global Polysilicon Production
Source：taiyangnews
Key Takeaways
- Bernreuter Research says 9 of the world’s top 10 polysilicon makers are now Chinese, based on its 2024 rankings
- The top 4 Chinese producers hold 65% market share and drove most new capacity and inventory buildup
- Wacker Chemie is the only non-Chinese company in the top 10 and is likely to continue to be in the list at least through 2027
Out of the world’s top 10 largest polysilicon manufacturers, 9 are now based in China, according to Bernreuter Research. The firm says China accounted for 93.5% of global polysilicon output in 2024, reflecting its continued dominance in the sector.
According to its latest rankings, the top 4 manufacturers achieved a combined market share of 65% in 2024, and also account for the ‘lion’s share of overcapacity’ in China. The top 4 companies on its list are Tongwei (910,000 MT), GCL Technology Holdings (480,000 MT), Daqo New Energy (350,000 MT), and Xinte Energy (300,000 MT).
Given 2/3rd of the new capacity between 2020 and 2024 was built by this quad between 2020 and 2024, Johannes Bernreuter, the Head of Bernreuter Research, believes, “Therefore, it is no wonder that the top four also accumulated two thirds of the huge inventories at Chinese polysilicon manufacturers by the end of 2024.”
Bernreuter says its rankings are based not on production capacity, but actual output in 2024. In some cases, the production capacity is significantly higher than output if the capacity has not yet been fully ramped up or is underutilized, it adds. The complete list is available here.
Starting in 2023, Bernreuter Research includes companies with a minimum annual production capacity of 60,000 MT in the top 10, a requirement not met by the US’s Hemlock Semiconductor, and South Korea/Malaysia’s OCI. Both these companies were edged out of the top 10 to 14th and 16th positions, respectively, by new Chinese producers Qinghai Lihao and Hongyuan Energy.
Lihao, according to the research, entered the ranking in the 2nd year of its operations in 2023, and scaled up to 5th place in 2024, reflecting the speed at which Chinese companies are expanding. Hongyuan is in the 9th spot. Bernreuter calls Hongyuan the ‘mini version’ of Tongwei owing to its complete integration – from polysilicon to solar module production.
Wacker Chemie, with its factory locations in Germany and the US, is the only non-Chinese company on the list with close to 80,000 metric tons (MT) of annual production capacity. Once the world’s largest polysilicon manufacturer from 2016 to 2019, Wacker fell to 8th spot in 2024.
Bernreuter expects better times ahead for Wacker once the European Union’s regulation on forced labor comes into effect in December 2027, which is likely to boost demand for European modules made with non-Chinese polysilicon. Nonetheless, the company will continue to stay in the top 10 ranking through 2027, according to Bernreuter, which explains, “It assumes that the PV market in the USA, the main destination of solar modules made of non-Chinese polysilicon, recovers from the crackdown of the Trump administration on renewables.”