【Haichuan Chemical Accident Updates】Oriental Hope’s Quzdong Phase 1 polysilicon project experienced a overheater leak, leading to shutdown and fire
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On June 17, a fire broke out at the first-phase polysilicon project of Dongfang Hope in the Zhundong Economic Development Zone in Xinjiang, sounding another alarm regarding safety in the rapidly growing polysilicon industry. The fire at Dongfang Hope that occurred on June 17 was caused by a shutdown due to a leak in the superheater inside the polysilicon plant. Judging from the video, thick smoke was rising from the base and the fire was intense. Dongfang Hope stated later that the silicon material factory has ceased production for maintenance; if the approval from the safety supervision agency is granted smoothly, the production impact is expected to last around 1 month, amounting to approximately 2,500 tons. Excluding costs such as equipment maintenance and restarts, and considering only the losses resulting from production shutdowns, at the current market price of 270,000 per ton, Dongfang Hope loses at least 675 million in revenue, or around 500 million in gross profit.
A notable development is that on June 13, the expert guidance and support team from the Ministry of Emergency Management for counties dealing with hazardous chemicals visited the polysilicon factory in the Dongfang Hope Zhundong Industrial Park to provide expert guidance and hold a symposium. The expert group emphasized that regulatory authorities at all local levels and enterprises should attach importance to this matter in terms of mindset and provide support through action for the expert guidance services, so as to effectively assist enterprises in improving their safety management capabilities. At the same time, enterprises should draw inferences from one instance and carry out thorough self-inspections and self-corrections; the issues identified should be assigned to specific responsible persons to ensure a complete cycle of rectification. Relevant leaders from the Safety Supervision Bureau of the Zhundong Economic and Technological Development Zone, along with Feng Xu, General Manager of Human Resources at Dongfang Hope Group, were also present. It is understood that the accident may have occurred at the first-phase 30,000-ton project of Xinjiang Dongfang Hope New Energy Co., Ltd. This project was part of what was then the world’s largest polysilicon production facility in terms of capacity – a facility with a polysilicon production capacity of 120,000 tons. As of February this year, Dongfang Hope has established phases 1 and 2 in Xinjiang, with a total production capacity of over 60,000 tons of polysilicon, 220,000 tons of industrial silicon, and 1 GW of photovoltaic cell manufacturing capacity. On December 29, 2021, the Environmental Protection Bureau of the Zhundong Development Zone also stated that Dongfang Hope’s 60,000-ton polysilicon project (Phase 3) had received approval from the relevant authorities, with a total investment of around 1 billion yuan. Construction on this project began in April 2022. With this 60,000-ton project added, Dongfang Hope’s total polysilicon production capacity in Xinjiang will reach 120,000 tons, all of which will come online in the future.
At 1:30 a.m. on April 13, 2019, a fire broke out at the Baotou factory of Tongwei Co., Ltd., a leading company in the polysilicon sector of the photovoltaic industry. As far as is known, the accident occurred during the recovery distillation and adsorption column activation process, when a valve leak led to a fire; the open flame was extinguished after 3:00, and no injuries were reported. However, the Baotou factory will be shut down for a month following the accident, which will directly affect Tongwei’s production capacity of polysilicon by around 3,000 tons.
On July 19, 2020, an explosion occurred at GCL’s polysilicon plant in Xinjiang due to problems with the distillation unit, and the plant has since stopped operating. By the end of 2019, the factory’s annual production capacity was 48,000 tons. A reporter from Yicai News asked GCL-Poly about this incident today (July 22). GCL-Poly responded that the polysilicon plant in Xinjiang did indeed experience a fire due to a leak in a distillation unit; it is currently shut down, with production expected to resume within a month. The details of the accident are still under further investigation.
On June 8, 2012, a fire broke out at the Shihézi production facility of Hesheng Silicon Industry in Xinjiang. According to a notice on the local official WeChat account, the accident occurred in the 997 siloxane finished product packaging workshop of Hesheng Silicon Industry’s project with an annual production capacity of 200,000 tons of sealants. Concerns have emerged in the market that supply to downstream silicon manufacturers could be affected. However, a reporter from Cailian Press learned from industry insiders that the fire will affect the company’s shipments of silicone, though it is used in industrial applications by photovoltaic polysilicon factories ； Secondly, the accident involved a fire in the warehouse of Phase II of the plant, and it did not spread to nearby facilities, so the commissioning and restoration processes were relatively fast. On its own, this incident will not have an impact on silicon material prices.
At around 10:30 a.m. on July 13, 2015, a chemical plant in Wutongqiao District, Leshan City, experienced a leak and fire. According to a statement from the **News Office of Wutongqiao District, the incident did not result in any casualties. Shortly after the incident, local netizens posted online to talk about it. Netizens said that at around 10:30 a.m., they suddenly heard a loud bang, after which they saw a large plume of smoke rising from the Yongxiang Polysilicon factory in the area. As the factory is located near Wutongqiao town area, many residents living there said that the town was covered in smoke, and the air carried a strong, pungent odor. Netizens also shared several photos, whose contents matched what the netizens had described.