Vertically integrated solar manufacturing partnership based in Washington
securing a self-reliant solar manufacturing industry
Moses Lake, WA (October 13, 2020) - Today REC Silicon ASA (REC Silicon), a
leading producer of advanced silicon materials and Violet Energy, Inc., doing
business as Violet Power, announced their partnership to create an integrated
domestic solar manufacturing supply chain that will serve to revitalize and
accelerate self-reliance in meeting clean energy goals for electric utility
services. The two Washington headquartered companies will establish a silicon
ingot and wafer solution for Violet Power's immediate solar cell manufacturing
requirements which, following the restart of the plant sited in Moses Lake, will
utilize REC's hyper-pure silicon feedstock materials. REC Silicon and Violet
Power will also work to expand domestic capacity for production of input
materials necessary for other cyber-secure clean energy solutions utilizing
green energy to create sustainable, responsibly produced and highly competitive
products for domestic applications.
"We welcome Violet Power to Washington and look forward to a close collaboration
in building the comprehensive silicon-based supply chain for high technology
solutions in the United States. The U.S. represents one of the largest and
fastest growing solar installation markets in the world, creating huge
opportunity for high tech domestic manufacturing. We applaud Violet Power for
its leadership in entering the market at this critical time. Our collaboration
will create hundreds of direct jobs and multiply the indirect jobs linked with
solar, battery storage and semi-conductor applications" said Tore Torvund, CEO
and President of REC Silicon.
REC Silicon has already invested over $1.7Billion in Washington, in a unique
plant employing its proprietary silane gas-based fluidized bed reactor for
granular polysilicon. Violet Power is building a state-of-the-art facility, co-
located with REC's existing Moses Lake plant to manufacture solar cells and
modules, adding ingot and wafer production in time. Violet Power's initial cell
production will begin sampling in the second quarter of 2021 with 500 MW of
solar cells, reaching 1GW of capacity by 2022 and scaling to 5GW over the next
five years.
"It is time to re-shore solar manufacturing to the United States. Our goal is to
re-start, and re-vitalize U.S. manufacturing, bringing critical energy security
and resiliency to the U.S. REC Silicon is therefore a natural partner given its
long-standing technology leadership. This partnership secures domestic supply
chain self-reliance and is the springboard for tremendous new job creation. The
time is now," said Desari Strader, Violet Energy's Chairwoman and Founder.
For further information, please contact:
REC Silicon
Francine Sullivan
Vice President Business Development
Phone: +15097501133
francine.sullivan@recsilicon.com
Violet Power
Greg Stanko
Phone: +1301 938 9794
Email: gregs@violetpower.com
About REC Silicon
REC Silicon is a leading producer of advanced silicon materials, delivering
high-purity polysilicon and silicon gas to the solar and electronics industries
worldwide. We combine over 30 years of experience and proprietary technology
with the needs of our customers, with annual production capacity of more than
20,000 MT of polysilicon from our two US-based manufacturing plants. Listed on
the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: REC), the Company is headquartered in Lysaker,
Norway.
For more information, go to: www.recsilicon.com
About Violet Power
Violet Power is the only U.S. solar producer to secure the capability to span
the full value chain, from hyper-pure silicon to photovoltaic power panels
maximizing long-term energy generation, resilience, and delivering the lowest
Levelized Cost of Energy.
This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12
of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.