A recent report by German research firm Bernreuter Research shows that nine of the world's top ten polysilicon manufacturers are headquartered in China. Tongwei Co., Ltd., GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd., Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd., and Xinte Energy Co., Ltd. together accounted for 65% of global production in 2024.

The report indicates that since 2022, the top four companies have consistently been these four Chinese manufacturers. They not only contribute two-thirds of the newly built capacity in the global market but also account for two-thirds of China's total polysilicon inventory at the end of 2024.

As of now, Tongwei Co., Ltd.'s total production capacity has increased nearly tenfold since 2020, reaching approximately 910,000 tons, produced in three factories, far exceeding the scale of GCL System Integration Technology Co., Ltd. (480,000 tons/four factories), which ranks second.

Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd. has a production capacity of approximately 350,000 tons, and Xinte Energy Co., Ltd. has a production capacity of approximately 300,000 tons. Bernreuter stated, "Therefore, it's not surprising that these four leading companies have accumulated large inventories."

In the rankings, Qinghai Lihao Qingneng, Xinjiang Dongfang Xiwang New Energy, and Asia Silicon ranked fifth through seventh, respectively.

The only non-Chinese company is the German chemical group Wacker, which was the world's number one from 2016 to 2019 and currently ranks eighth with a capacity of 80,000 tons, remaining the world's largest producer of semiconductor-grade polysilicon.

Bernreuter analyzed that as the consolidation of China's polysilicon industry progresses, Wacker is expected to maintain its top-ten position until at least 2027, but this prediction depends on whether the US photovoltaic market can "recover from the Trump administration's crackdown on renewable energy."

Ranked ninth and tenth are China's Hongyuan Energy Technology and Xinjiang Guoneng Energy Technology, with capacities of 60,000 tons and 65,000 tons, respectively. Bernreuter described Hongyuan Energy Technology as a "miniature version of Tongwei," with a fully integrated business from polysilicon production to module assembly.

Hemlock Semiconductor, based in Michigan, USA, which had long been among the top ten, fell off the list in 2023 and currently ranks fourteenth with a capacity of 35,000 tons.

A report by Bernreuter Research in June of this year warned that if Chinese manufacturers excessively cut capacity, the world may face a polysilicon shortage around 2028. By the end of 2024, China's total polysilicon capacity had expanded to 3.25 million tons, accounting for 93.5% of the global total, causing prices to fall below $4.5 per kilogram.