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 About 6N Silicon
About 6N Silicon 1. Why was 6N Silicon founded?
6N Silicon was founded by Scott Nichol in September of 2006. Scott is a serial entrepreneur with over a decade of executive experience in metal processing. With his metal processing expertise, Scott realized that he could bring an entirely new approach to the purification of silicon for solar power. He could see an opportunity to solve two fundamental industry problems -- the current critical problem in the solar industry as well as help meet the long-term industry goal of meeting grid parity. Scott was attracted by the exciting nature of this industry and its critical environmental importance. By helping address these industry issues, 6N can contribute towards a solution for a much larger challenge.
6N's business focus is the production of true solar grade silicon for the use in the production of solar cells. We make true solar grade polysilicon.
We take the most basic form of commercially available, impure silicon known as metallurgical grade silicon, and then we apply metal processing techniques to refine it into a very pure form. We utilize equipment that is commonly used in other metal processing industries. This is dramatically different from the current standard vapor deposition process and its high energy requirements.
Our primary competitive advantages are related to speed and cost. We are distinguished by dramatically lower capital equipment costs, very low production costs, rapid expansion capability, and our wide flexibility in location. Our process has a much smaller footprint and very low environmental impact. These strengths allow us to utilize conventional warehouse-type facilities rather than highly specialized industrial plants.
We were very honored and flattered to receive this award as Canada has many world-class green technology companies. Since we received this award it has created considerable awareness and opened many doors for 6N Silicon. Receiving this award has definitely accelerated our progress.
The solar industry is a truly global business. Prospective customers are located in North America, Europe and Asia. We are in active dialog with leading companies worldwide.
At this time we are not entering into distribution arrangements for our product. We plan to initially work with a small number of solar manufacturers directly.
We are highly focused on achieving our near term processing goals. Once we achieve this critical milestone, we will begin construction and then operate our initial production line. We are confident that we will commission this production line in the same short timeframe as our pilot line. We will then ramp our production very quickly to meet demand.
The solar market overall has grown to $19 billion globally and is predicted to continue over the next decade at over 30% per year.
The global market for solar grade silicon feedstock is expected to exceed $10 billion in 2010, and projected to grow at a 30% annual growth rate over the next decade.
This question does not have a simple answer. The levels of the various impurities in the Silicon will affect cell performance. Some impurities, such as the metals, will make the Silicon too conductive for the photovoltaic effect. Some impurities can make it difficult to cut wafers. Other impurities, particularly Boron and Phosphorous, function as dopants and must be below threshold levels and be in a specific balance for proper solar cell performance. Depending upon the ingot, or ribbon, growing technique, some impurities can even affect the ability to create the ingot or ribbon.
To optimize a solar grade silicon, it is important to address all of these factors and provide a consistent product that optimizes cell cost and performance while providing high production yield throughout the value chain.
To provide a solar grade solution, these purity and product factors must be addressed along with the ability of the manufacturing process to scale quickly to allow the industry to keep pace with demand. A solar grade solution also requires a low overall cost that will enable the industry compete with conventional electricity generation.
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