Construction of our advanced silicon metal production plant in Iceland

Project progress since our establishment in mid-2012

To enlarge the view, simply click on the photos.

August 2018 On August 31, 2018, the heat-up process for the second of the two arc furnaces was started.
May 2018 Filling of the cooling vessels with liquid silicon metal having a temperature of 1,400 to 1,500 degrees Celsius.
May 11, 2018 Having reached the operating temperature of 2,000 degrees Celsius, the first tapping of liquid silicon metal marking the official start of production was accomplished on May 11, 2018.
April 30, 2018 On April 30, PCC Bakki Silicon hf. commenced the commissioning phase with the ignition of the first of the two electric arc furnaces. This means that in the first step the electric arc between the electrodes of the furnace was established. In the next step, the temperature was gradually increased and the furnace loaded with a mixture of quartzite, low-ash coal, wood chips, and limestone.
April 2018 Panoramic view of the silicon metal plant.
April 2018 Dedusting unit of screening station and shipping department.
April 2018 View of the dedusting units, consisting of dust silos, filter house, screening and shipping department and dedusting unit for the silicon screening station (from left to right).
April 2018 View of the silicon metal plant.
April 2018 View of the coal storage facility (front) and the furnace building (background).
April 2018 View of the coal storage facility.
April 2018 Overview of the second terrace. The daily depots securing the feedstock supply are in the front, while the furnace building is visible in the background.
April 2018 Tapping level of the electric arc furnace no. 1 shortly before commissioning.
March 2018 Furnace building with offgas stacks and hairpin cooler (right)
March 2018 Dedusting plant of screening station and shipping department.
March 2018 Furnace building with main electrical station in foreground.
March 2018 Gas farm of the plant.
Industrial gases are used for refining of the liquid silicon.
March 2018 Main entrance of the plant. Coal and quarzitestorage is visible in the middle, office building at the right side.
February 2018 Furnace building from raw material storage view.
In the front left the silos can be seen. At the furnace building in the middle visible is the installation of the bucket belt conveyor. It transports the raw materials towards the furnaces.
February 2018 The Screening and shipping department is mostly completed. The silicon transport between Furnace building and shipping department is done by a conveyor belt. The cladding works still remain.
February 2018 View of the dedusting units, consisting out of dust silos, filter house, screening and shipping department and dedusting unit for silicon screening station (from left to right).
February 2018 Receiving station for bulk materials (coal and quartzite) as well as conveyor belt and coal storage building.
February 2018 View of the silicon metal production plant.
January 2018 Panoramic view of the construction site in January 2018
December 2017 Interior view of the already full coal storage facility.
December 2017 Panorama of the coal storage building. In the left half of the photo, the quartzite storage facility is visible. The filling process started at the beginning of December. As of week 51, it was roughly 50 percent full.
December 2017 Interior view of the furnace building.
Four of the eight feedstock bunkers and the flue gas pipe of the second furnace are visible.
December 2017 Rooftop of the furnace building. The flue-gas stacks and chimneys are all complete.
December 2017 Interior view of the furnace building. The openings into the furnace vessel for the three electrodes are visible (from above)
November 2017 Unloading of the first shipment of quartzite from PCC Silicium as well as coal in the port of Húsavík.
November 2017 Unloading of the first shipment of quartzite in the port of Húsavík.
November 2017 Simultaneous unloading of electrodes from St. Petersburg (ship in the front) and of coal and quartzite (ship in the background) from Rotterdam/Gdansk in the port of Húsavík.
November 2017 View of the construction site in November 2017
November 2017 Panoramic view of the construction site in November 2017
November 2017 View of the construction site in November 2017
October 2017 View of the second furnace. Visible is one of the tapping holes (middle left), the embracing offgas system as well as the rail system for the transport of the ladle.
October 2017 View of the furnace building.
Oktober 2017 Bearings on the conveyor belt bridge. The conveyor belt will transport quartzite and coal to the designated storage areas.
October 2017 Overview over the second terrace (production). The furnace building is nearly completely cladded. On the right side the installation of the daybins (raw material supply) is visible.
September 2017 Construction site in September 2017
August 2017 Panoramic view of the construction site in August 2017
August 2017 The construction of the off-gas cleaning facilities continues.

The hairipin cooler, for cooling down the off-gas, is at the back left in brown. Steelwork for the filter station to collect dust from the off-gas is in the middle front. Silos, used for storage of the filtered dust, are at the front left.
August 2017 The cladding of the furnace building is nearly finished and the four emergency chimneys have been installed. In the front left of the picture, the steelwork for the daily depot (raw materials) is almost completed.
August 2017 Side view of the plant.
August 2017 The construction site in August 2017. The dust silos (at left) have been installed.
July 2017 Heavy load transport of a dust silo from the Husavik port to the construction site.
July 2017 The construction site in July 2017.
June 2017 Rail system at the bottom of the furnace. After the tapping process, the ladle is transported on it towards the casting tables.
June 2017 View of the furnace building. The steel structure is nearly finished, and the roofing works are at an advanced stage.
June 2017 Construction site of the raw material silos, linking the raw material storage and furnace building.
June 2017 Construction site visit by KfW bank representatives and consultants of the bank.
June 2017 Furnace building seen from the raw material silos.
June 2017 Lifting of the first pipe bridge between the furnace building and hair-pin cooler. Via this bridge, the offgas is led towards the coolers and filters.
May 2017 Following the erection of the frames over the past few months, the flue gas cooling pipes are currently being installed.
May 2017 At the furnace building, the last steel construction girders are mounted, while the crane lifts the elements of the flue gas stacks into the building.
May 2017 Construction of the steel structure for the product storage bay (front left) has nearly been completed and cladding work on the furnace building has started.
May 2017 Bird’s-eye view of the construction site in May 2017
May 2017 The silos that will be used to store dust from the flue gas filter system have arrived in the port of Husavik.
April 2017 Total view of the construction site
April 2017 Installation works at the feed hopper building for raw materials. This is where the feedstocks (quartzite and coal) will be unloaded from trucks via bottom outlets onto the submerged conveyor belt.
April 2017 Steelworks and cranage at the furnace building. The total height of the building is now visible.
April 2017 The product packing hall is almost completey clad. On the right-hand side you can see the steel-frames of the the hairpin cooler, where the off-gases will be cooled down before they are led to the baghouse.
April 2017 Conveyor belt bridge in the area of the quartzite storage.
March 2017 Panoramic view of the construction site in March 2017
March 2017 View of the third terrace (packaging and logistics):
Front left: electrical station for the third terrace
Front center: foundations for the flue-gas purification facilities
Background center: warehouse and furnace building
Front right: product packaging hall
March 2017 Cladding work on the silicon warehouse has started.
March 2017 Steel structure construction on the product packaging hall has been completed, cladding work is in progress.
March 2017 View of the second terrace (production):
Front left: the main electrical station
Front center: the electrode storage
Background center: the furnace building
Background right: warehouse for the finished product
Front right: the cooling water station
March 2017 The exterior lining of the main electrical station is ready. Interior installation and finishing works have begun.
February 2017 The photo shows bridge supports. Once the plant is operational, the bridge will be used to feed material into eight daily storage containers (silos). The material is then retrieved from the silos on the lower, second terrace (production) and taken to the furnace building (on the far left of the photo).
February 2017 Construction of the steel structure at the furnace building has already reached level +22.9 m.
February 2017 At the materials storage site the flue-gas stacks are waiting to be installed.
February 2017 The steel structure of the silicon warehouse is at an advanced stage, making it possible to start roofing work.
February 2017 The steel construction for the product packaging hall has been completed.
February 2017 Completion of the raw material storage facility for wood chips on the first terrace.
February 2017 Cladding work at the cooling water station has been completed.
February 2017 Steel construction in progress at the silicon warehouse.
February 2017 The main electrical station has been insulated and cladding work is underway.
February 2017 The photo shows the main electrical station with work in progress on the thermal insulation. Behind it you can see the furnace building, where steel construction elements are mounted using cranes. The yellow crane on the right is working on the steel structure of the part of the furnace building which will later house bunkers and storage facilities (large bins) for the produced silicon.
January 2017 The wood chip storage facility has been nearly completed, only a few cladding elements are still missing.
January 2017 A crane ballet at the furnace building.
January 2017 Consultants from KfW-Bank visit Húsavík to check the progress of the project and related initiatives. Here they inspect how the port extension construction is progressing. This work is essential for handling both raw materials and finished goods.
January 2017 The underground part of the bulk feeding station has been completed. It will be used to feed coal and quartzite onto a conveyor belt.
December 2016 The steelworks at level +6,7 m and +10,9 m are nearly finished. By the end of the year the erection of the steel frames for level +16,9 m and +22,9 m starts. Once completed, the furnace building is going to be approximately twice as high.
December 2016 The belt bridge „grows“ towards the feeding station. The conveyor bridge shall transport the bulk material towards its designated storage areas.
December 2016 Concrete works for the feeding station for coal and quartzite have been finished. Now the installation of the feed hopper starts, which shall feed the bulk materials onto the conveyor belt.
November 2016 The conveyor bridge has now been completed. The quartzite storage area can be seen in the foreground, the coal will be stored in the background in the roofed interim coal storage building.
November 2016 Lifting works are done at the furnace building by up to five cranes simultaneously. At the right side the silo building is constructed where the raw materials will be stored.
November 2016 PCC supports the local sports club with jerseys.
November 2016 The first furnace shell has been installed.
November 2016 In the beginning of November the first furnace shell is lifted into the furnace building. At that point of time the steelworks have reached the second level (+ 10,9 m).
October 2016 The conveyor bridge, which will be used to carry coal and quartzite to the respective storage facilities, is being pre-assembled in front of the coal storage facility and will be lifted to the bridge foundations segment by segment from the end of October.
October 2016 Assembly work on the steel structure for the furnace building is progressing, and the stairwells are gaining in height.
September 2016 The hull of the coal storage facility on the upper terrace is now ready.
September 2016 In the furnace building concrete pouring has started for both stairwells. Mobile cranes mount the first steel girders for the building’s framework. In the background, work starts on the erection of the storage bunkers where the cooled, pre-crushed silicon will be temporarily kept.
August 2016 The final blast on August 24 opened the northern entrance of the tunnel connecting the plant with the port of Húsavík. Lining of the tunnel begins.
Summer 2016 The building work on the silicon metal production plant of PCC BakkiSilicon hf. in the north of Iceland continues to proceed to schedule and within budget, as has also been the case in the preceding quarters. Following erection of the steel structure supporting the 3,600 m2 coal storage facility, the roof has also now almost been completed. Currently, the cladding panels for the side and end walls of the building are being installed. At the same time, work has begun on erection of the first of the two electric arc furnaces. Following the concrete work on the foundations, the rotary gear rim has also now been installed.
Spring 2016 Panoramic view of the construction site in April 2016
Spring 2016 Panoramic view of the construction site in March 2016
Spring 2016 Panoramic view of the construction site in February 2016
Spring 2016 Construction of our plant is proceeding to schedule and to budget. The detailed design work on the facility and the terracing of the site have now been largely completed, with the first foundations also in place. We will thus see some of the main buildings completed in the course of summer 2016. For example, all side walls of the first main building, the coal storage facility measuring more than 120 metres in length and 30 metres in width, have now been erected.

We have also instigated recruitment activities in order to ensure that we have the necessary personnel available to operate the plant once the commissioning phase planned for 2018 is completed; an important step has already been taken in this regard with the hiring of a very experienced management team. In all, we expect to create a total of around 125 direct jobs at the site in the north of Iceland.
September 2015 On September 17, 2015, Waldemar Preussner, Chairman of the Administrative Board of PCC SE, officially inaugurates the construction site in the new Bakki industrial park near to the town of Húsavík in the north of Iceland. The ceremony is attended by high-ranking representatives from the world of business and politics.
June 2015 The project company PCC BakkiSilicon hf. receives investment funding of US$194 million (approx. €170 million) from KfW IPEX Bank for construction of the plant. In all, the investment volume of the “PCC BakkiSilicon Project” amounts to around US$300 million (now approx. €265 million). The financing structure put in place over a term of 15 years not only includes Hermes cover (Germany’s export credit guarantee scheme), but also untied loan guarantees under Germany’s UFK programme.
Site preparation starts at the beginning of June 2015, with construction already getting underway towards the end of June.
Spring 2015 Work commences on developing the new Bakki industrial park on the outskirts of Húsavík, including preparation and installation of the infrastructure for our silicon metal plant.
February 2015 In February 2015 we engage Viridis.iQ GmbH, a consultancy firm headquartered in Constance, Germany, that specializes in the silicon metal and photovoltaic industries, to provide know-how transfer and technical support services during the start-up phase.
December 2014 With the end of the year approaching, the financing package for the Iceland project is finalized in full. The total investment outlay of around $US300 million (approx. €265 million) is largely covered by a loan from KfW IPEX Bank, while around a quarter is to be provided – following negotiations held during 2014 – by Icelandic pension funds and the Icelandic bank, Islandsbanki. The corresponding contract between PCC SE and the Icelandic company Bakkastakkur slhf. is concluded towards the end of December.
September 2014 The financing for PCC’s silicon metal plant is taken a significant step forward with receipt, on September 25, 2014, of a provisional warranty in the form of an untied loan guarantee (UFK) from the Interministerial Committee of the German federal government. The government offers UFK guarantees in support of commodity projects abroad that are regarded as inherently worthwhile or which are of particular interest to Germany.
March 2014 PCC BakkiSilicon hf. concludes a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Iceland’s biggest energy utility, Landsvirkjun, for its planned silicon metal production plant.
A PPA is an agreement between a power generator and a power purchaser covering a certain period. The special feature of a PPA is that it is no longer the network operator but rather one or several customers who act as the primary purchasers.
October 2013 A further major milestone is passed on the road to realization of the Iceland project with the signing of an agreement with plant constructor SMS group GmbH, Düsseldorf (Germany), in October 2013, covering turnkey erection and delivery of the production facilities. 2013 also sees progress in negotiations with an Icelandic power provider and local electricity network operators, as well as with potential suppliers of the other raw materials required (including coal and timber). Contractual negotiations also continue on the customer side.
Q4 2013 Following extensive geological investigations performed by internationally accredited specialists, the quartzite quarry of PCC Silicium S.A., Zagórze (Poland) is awarded a JORC (Joint Ore Reserves Committee) certificate in the fourth quarter of 2013. The certificate constitutes a major prerequisite for attracting external financing for the silicon metal project. It confirms that our quarry is able to supply quartzite of sufficient quality and quantity in order to keep our planned silicon metal production plant supplied with its key input raw material for at least 15 years.
March 2013 By the end of March 2013, the Icelandic parliament has passed with a large majority several laws allowing the development of the Bakki industrial park in which the silicon metal plant is to be built. One of these laws was specifically drafted to support our project with provision of both financial assistance for the initial investment, relating to preparation of the construction site, and long-term tax concessions.
October 2012 Draft design plans are completed at the end of October 2012 by plant constructor SMS group GmbH of Düsseldorf, Germany, which is also the general contractor responsible for turnkey delivery of the facility.
Mid-2012 Mid-2012 marks the establishment of PCC’s Icelandic project company, PCC BakkiSilicon hf., the head office of which is in the immediate vicinity of the planned production site near Húsavík in the north of Iceland.