Silicon metal

What it is

Silicon metal is refined from quartz and is the feedstock for solar polysilicon, semiconductor wafers, silicones, and aluminium alloying.

Why it matters

China refines around 80% of global silicon metal. Solar and chip growth pull on the same upstream resource.

Circular challenges

Whether silicon metal re-enters the economy at end-of-life is mostly settled at the design stage. These are the recurring blockers.

• Solar panel recycling is glass-first

  Silicon makes up only a small fraction of a panel's mass; most recycling recovers glass and aluminium, not the silicon wafer.

• High-purity is single-pass

  Semiconductor and solar silicon need 9N+ purity; once contaminated by metals it cannot be re-refined to that grade.

• Energy of refining

  Reducing quartz to metallurgical-grade silicon needs huge electric-arc furnaces — climate footprint depends on the grid.