OCI Holdings clinches $7 billion solar panel material deal with Trina Solar

OCIM's production facility in Malaysia [OCI HOLDINGS]

OCI Holdings, a chemical and solar power company, clinched a $7 billion supply deal with Trina Solar, a Chinese solar module manufacturer.

OCI said Monday that its Malaysian subsidiary, OCIM, signed a long-term contract on March 20 with Trina Solar’s Singaporean entity to supply polysilicon materials for photovoltaic panels through 2030.

OCIM’s polysilicon will be supplied to Trina’s production facility in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam.

OCI Holdings has a solar-grade polysilicon production plant in Sarawak, Malaysia, which the company acquired from Japan’s Tokuyama in 2017. The Sarawak plant has an annual production capacity of 35,000 tons, which is expected to expand to 56,500 tons by 2027.

As the plant is powered by hydroelectricity, OCIM’s polysilicon is comparatively competitive in the market in terms of sustainability, according to the company.

“The latest large-scale supply deal with Trina Solar, the market leader in the solar panel industry, once again confirms the strong global demand for high-efficiency polysilicon produced by OCIM,” said OCI Holdings Chairman Lee Woo-hyun.

“To better address the fast-changing international market environment, we will closely assess our pricing and supply strategies to secure our foothold in the global solar polysilicon market as a leading player,” Lee said.

As the United States strives to wean itself off Chinese technology with its Inflation Reduction Act and Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, OCI is leveraging its position as one of the few non-Chinese suppliers of solar-grade polysilicon.

Last December, the company signed a $1 billion supply contract with a U.S. solar panel manufacturer CubicPV, which will last until 2033.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]