On July 11, Science and Technology Daily published an article titled "Starting from the Farmhouse, and Embarking on a Path of Silicon-Based Innovation", reporting that SINOSICO is determined to innovate silicon-based materials and has transformed from a national polysilicon pioneer to a high-end silicon-based material pioneer.
Back then, SINOSICO started from scratch in a farmhouse. Today, one out of every two home-made new energy vehicles uses its products, and at least one out of every five 5G mobile phones in the world uses its materials. The 20-year history of SINOSICO is a microcosm of China's advanced material industry from a "follower" to a "leader", and it is also a vivid footnote for scientific and technological innovation to support national strategies and drive industrial upgrading.
The original text is as follows:
"Based on the independent control of raw materials, process technology, testing and analysis methods, and equipment development, we have achieved localization of 22 high-end silicon-based materials, effectively ensuring the supply of silicon-based materials," Wan Ye, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of China Silicon Corporation Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "SINOSICO"), told Science and Technology Daily on July 9.
As a high-tech enterprise affiliated with China Minmetals Corporation, SINOSICO has been accumulating small steps in the past 20 years, and has promoted its transformation and development with scientific and technological innovation, taking the lead in blazing a new "Silicon" road for the high-quality development of the advanced materials industry in China.
Carrying the banner of industrial development
Not long ago, SINOSICO made a breakthrough in the field of silicon-based advanced materials. In response to the relevant achievements, experts organized by the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association stated in the achievement evaluation that the project has a rich portfolio of independent intellectual property rights and that its technology and applications have reached an international advanced level. Some technologies for preparing electronic specialty gases are at the international leading level.
Yan Dazhou, chief scientist of China Minmetals Corporation, proposed that polysilicon is an indispensable basic raw material for the clean energy and information industries, the "food" for the photovoltaic industry, and the "fountainhead" for the electronic information industry.
The independent control of polysilicon production technology is crucial for our country to become a photovoltaic powerhouse. In 2003, SINOSICO was established in a farmhouse in Gaolong Town, Yanshi District, more than 40 kilometers away from downtown Luoyang. At that time, there were no reference standards, production equipment, or construction drawings. The core team of SINOSICO started from scratch and lived in a farmhouse. Following the original concept of energy recovery and material recycling, they independently designed core equipment, developed and implemented four key technologies, and built China's first polysilicon production line with an annual output of 300 tons.
According to Wan Ye, after the first domestic polysilicon production line with an annual output of 300 tons was put into operation, SINOSICO continued to optimize processes, upgrade equipment, and reduce energy consumption. The company soon expanded its annual production capacity to 1,000 tons, 5,000 tons, and 20,000 tons, playing a good demonstration role in the industry's "technology localization, large-scale production, large-size equipment, and green industry", and having greatly enhanced the core competitiveness of China's polysilicon.
Serving national strategies
In 2012, affected by the international environment, polysilicon prices "dived" rapidly. Costs were severely inverted, and more than 90% of polysilicon companies nationwide closed. In September of that year, SINOSICO was forced to suspend production. "Only by developing and industrializing high-end products can we maximize the technological advantages of SINOSICO," recalled Wan Ye. One year after the suspension of production, SINOSICO decided to develop polysilicon products with high added value.
The company attached importance to the development of ultra-high purity silicon-based materials, and developed the core technologies for preparing more than 10 products, including electronic-grade polysilicon and trichlorosilane, forming an independent and controllable technology system of process, equipment, analysis, and testing. The relevant scientific and technological achievements were commercialized in the Mengjin factory built in 2023.
However, the development process was inevitably fraught with setbacks. "We didn't give up in the face of failures because we did what others hadn't done. Through unremitting efforts, we successively made breakthroughs in the key technologies for synthesis and purification of ultra-high purity materials," said Liu Jianhua, director of the R&D Center of SINOSICO, when talking about the research and development process.
At present, there are nearly 40 types of silicon-based materials widely used in the electronic information industry. SINOSICO has achieved localization of more than 20 of them, and the customer coverage of related products exceeds 80%. Among them, 4 products rank first in the domestic market.
We uphold collaborative innovation, mutual promotion, and a win-win situation. To support future development strategies, downstream manufacturers will propose specific needs for new products in advance. SINOSICO will respond quickly by launching pre-research and development of technologies to efficiently complete preliminary product testing and verification. Through close collaboration, the development cycle of products of downstream manufacturers has been greatly shortened, and SINOSICO has achieved technology iteration and upgrade simultaneously. The two sides have not only built a solid customer relationship, but also established a virtuous circle of mutual drive and mutual benefit. This model fully reflects the supporting role of industrial chain collaborative innovation for industrial upgrading.
"One out of every two home-made new energy vehicles uses our products, and at least one out of every five 5G mobile phones in the world uses our materials," said Wan Ye. From a pioneer of national polysilicon to a forerunner of high-end silicon-based materials, SINOSICO has completed the transformation and upgrade from traditional manufacturing to high-end material supply through technology iteration, product upgrades, and intelligent transformation, and will strive to be a strategic scientific and technological force serving national strategies and leading industrial development.