According to a statement from Sonangol, which VerAngola had access to, last Friday, the national oil company and the aforementioned Chinese company signed "a memorandum of understanding for the joint assessment of the establishment of a partnership to implement a project in the photovoltaic solar energy industrial chain, which will culminate in the production of photovoltaic panels in Angola, using quartz ore as the raw material".
The agreement now signed, Sonangol says, will pave the way for "Angola to have a solar panel industry based on quartz mining, as well as the production of metallurgical silicon and polysilicon, for the production of solar panels, within a few years".
"In line with the principle of retaining the aforementioned minerals, avoiding export without the benefits of their transformation, a solar panel industry would play a key role in the energy transition strategy, considering the vital importance of solar energy in the process", the note reads.
Sonangol also reports that the factory, with "a projected production capacity of 180,000 tons of metallurgical silicon and 150,000 tons of polysilicon per year", should initially produce 50,000 tons of these products.
Gaspar Martins, Chairman of the Board of Directors (PCA) of Sonangol, and Wang Fu, CEO of Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy, were the signatories of the agreement.
