In 2005, REC established its five-year cost roadmap, which targets a reduction of production costs by almost 50 percent in "best plants" in 2010 compared to world-class production costs in 2005.
Technological innovation is essential in REC’s cost reduction programs. Implementation of new technologies in expansion projects, such as the Fluidized Bed Reactor (FBR) plant for production of granulated polysilicon and the new wafer, cell and module technologies, is underway. Several key elements in the cost reduction program will not take full effect until new facilities are fully up and running in 2009-2010.In polysilicon production, the FBR plant will be a significant contributor to cost reductions. FBR is expected to reduce energy consumption in chemical vapor deposition by more than 80 percent compared to standard Siemens reactors. Lower energy consumption and other scale and operational benefits are expected to enable REC to reduce polysilicon production cost significantly compared to a traditional plant based on Siemens technology.REC is introducing new crystallization technologies in the ongoing ramp-up of new production at Herøya, and together with improved sawing processes, this is where the main cost reductions are to come in the wafer division.
In cells and modules production, cost reductions are to be achieved primarily through process automation, higher cell efficiencies and economies of scale. Overall, the benefits of technological advances and large-scale production are expected to enable REC to bring module costs to below 1 Euro per watt produced at the "best plant".Looking beyond 2010, REC will continue to seek cost reductions through developments of scalable new technologies. REC expects to make further progress in sawing technologies and is progressing with tests of sawless wafer cutting processes. In the downstream activities, REC continues research on lower cost and higher efficiency cell processes, and REC is also carrying out early-phase research and evaluation on totally new technologies for PV modules.
The cost road map targets a reduction in the production cost per watt of almost 50% from 2005 to 2010, when comparing 'best plant' in 2010 with 'world-class' 2005 production.
