Inner Mongolia Tongwei High-purity Silicon Co's 50,000-metric-ton high-purity silicon project has been completed and put into operation in Baotou. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

The site of Phase One and the launch ceremony for Phase Two of the project by Inner Mongolia Daqo New Energy Co. [Photo/WeChat account of Baotou Daily]

Tongwei Group's first 200,000-ton single high-purity crystal silicon project has been under construction in Baotou, which will help Baotou's silicon industry chain move to the medium-high end level.

Inner Mongolia Xinyuan Silicon Material Technology Co has been using technology based fully on its own intellectual property to produce particles of silicon with an improved performance and lower carbon emissions, which will help the processing technology in Baotou's silicon industry reach the top level of the global industry.

Baotou has entered an industrial regeneration period relying on the silicon industry, resulting in a new industrial cluster with an annual output value of 100 billion yuan ($14.21 billion).

In addition, by relying on its four five-million-kilowatt new energy development bases, the city will produce a steady stream of low-priced environmentally-friendly electricity, greatly reducing the production costs for silicon industry enterprises.

"It is amazing that we are using locally produced crucibles in Baotou so quickly," Shi Wei, administrative manager of Baotou CanadianSolar Sunshine Energy Technology Co, said while giving the thumbs up to Baotou's industrial supporting capacity.

The crucibles the company uses when making monocrystalline silicon have for a long time been ordered from South China. As such, Baotou is forging ahead to produce its own crucibles, carbon-carbon composite materials, thermal insulation materials, long crystal furnaces and other supporting parts of the silicon industry, which will result in huge logistical savings for enterprises.

Baotou is expected to build the largest polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon production bases in China and even the world by 2025.