GREEN14 partners with KTH for green solar-grade silicon production

GREEN14, the Stockholm-based startup pioneering sustainable silicon production, is partnering with the Royal Institute of Technology or KTH to develop a pilot reactor for its ground-breaking quartz reduction process employing green hydrogen plasma.

The reactor represents a crucial milestone for GREEN14’s vision of a low-carbon future. By using hydrogen plasma in the quartz reduction process, it aims to achieve a reduction in emissions ranging from 60 to 95 percent. This reduction would have more positive environmental implications, helping to combat climate change and address the urgent need for sustainable energy solutions.

GREEN14’s techno-economic analysis indicates that the operations would also be economically viable. It can open possibilities for large-scale implementation in the solar industry. With the potential to transform solar panel manufacturing, the company’s process stands at the forefront of clean and affordable energy innovation.

“Building upon our successful lab-scale feasibility study, we are confident that our technology has the potential to transform the solar industry. By significantly reducing emissions and advancing technoeconomic viability, GREEN14 is playing a vital role in creating a more sustainable future,” said Adam Podgórski, the founder and CEO of GREEN14.

Green hydrogen as solution for green production

The green hydrogen plasma process is a new way to produce solar-grade silicon in solar cells. Conventional solar silicon production methods use coal and chlorine, which release harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.

GREEN14 uses hydrogen plasma as a reductant to remove oxygen from silicon dioxide. This process is cleaner and more efficient, cutting high-purity silicon production time significantly compared to traditional methods. It produces silicon with purity levels ranging from 5N to 6N, or 99.999 percent to 99.9999 percent. The results have been verified by the Norwegian research institute SINTEF and the Czech plasma technology provider PlasmaSolve.

The pilot-scale reactor will be a stepping stone towards building a 25-kilotonne plant in Northern Sweden, which would have an annual wafer capacity of 10 gigawatts. GREEN14 has already secured a letter of intent from key customers and is working on securing more.