Sohar Port and Freezone in Oman is set to host a polysilicon production plant with an annual capacity of 100,000 tons. The foundation stone laying ceremony for the plant was recently held by local company United Solar Holding.
Expected to cost OMR 520 million ($1.35 billion), the project is being executed by United Solar Polysilicon (FZC) SPC in the Al Batinah North Governorate.
According to local media reports, the project is scheduled to become operational in 2025. It will also meet the international demand for silicon metal in the markets of Asia, Europe and North America.
Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion Ibtisam Ahmed Al Farooji said the polysilicon project is aligned with the Oman Vision 2040 goals to stimulate green hydrogen production and reduce solar panel costs in the kingdom.
Oman aims to have 35% to 39% of its total power mix to come from renewable energy by 2040. It also targets to produce a minimum of 1 million tons of renewable hydrogen/year by 2030, up to 3.75 million tons/year by 2040 and up to 8.5 million tons/year by 2050 eyeing exports of this green fuel, according to the IEA.
To feed this green hydrogen capacity, Oman is working on some large-scale projects like the 25 GW solar and wind powered Oman Green Energy Hub and the 12 GW renewable energy contracts awarded by Hydrom to power green hydrogen projects, apart from auctioning utility-scale solar projects (see Oman Awards Green Hydrogen Projects).
Establishing a domestic vertically integrated supply chain for solar energy within the country then makes business sense for Oman which will also attract foreign direct investment as aimed by the local authorities.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion for Commerce and Industry, Dr. Saleh Said Masn added that the polysilicon project aligns with the ministry's efforts to attract high-tech industries. Oman's potential in solar energy component manufacturing will initiate new, modern industries.
In July 2023, Sohar Port and Freezone signed a landlease agreement with Green Ferro Alloy (FZC) LLC to establish Oman's 1st silicon metal plant for a total investment of $68 million. Silicon metal produced here by Green Ferro will meet the demand in Asia, Europe and North America. One of its uses is to make solar PV cells.
Earlier this year, in January 2024, China's Shuangliang Eco-Energy announced winning the bid to supply polysilicon production equipment to United Solar Polysilicon for high-purity silicon material factory (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Last year, another Chinese polysilicon giant GCL Technology was exploring setting up a 120,000 tons/year polysilicon manufacturing fab in Saudi Arabia (see Chinese Polysilicon Company Eyeing Middle East).