May 14, 2009 – The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a long-term €400 million loan to finance Wacker Chemie AG’s new polysilicon production facility in Nünchritz (Saxony, Germany). The Munich-based chemical company says the EIB’s Management Committee and Board of Directors have approved granting the loan and the contractual details are to be signed in the next few weeks.

WACKER budgeted investments totaling some €800M for its new Nünchritz polysilicon production facility, which is expected to create around 450 new jobs.

“The EIB’s loan approval is a key component in our financing plan for this strategic growth project,” providing the company with sufficient financial flexibility for expansion in the difficult economic climate, said WACKER CFO Joachim Rauhut in a statement. He added that the conditions from EIB, with whom Wacker has partnered for many years, were attractive compared to conventional bank loans or bonds.

The new polysilicon facility at the Nünchritz site, set for commissioning in 2011, has a nominal capacity of 10,000 metric tons/year, which will help boost the company’s polysilicon capacity to 35,500 metric tons annually, compared to current capacity of 15,000 metric tons. The expansion aims to satisfy what the company sees as increasing global demand for hyperpure polycrystalline silicon, and “continued double-digit annual growth” for poly-Si from the solar sector.