LDK Polysilicon Manufacturing Facility

The $1.2 billion LDK Polysilicon Facility in Xinyu City, People's Republic of China (PRC) is the one of the world's largest polysilicon production facilities.

Fluor served as the facility's engineering, procurement, construction, and maintenance contractor and managed the activities of multiple Technology Know-How Providers (TKHPs), responsible for integrating various technologies and carrying out detailed design, procurement, and construction of this fast-track project.

The first of three production lines was finished in record time, allowing LDK Solar to begin initial production of photovoltaic silicon less than 24 months after the start of construction.

Construction of the second line was completed in July 2011 with the third and final line completed in late 2011, meeting LDK's schedule and budget requirements.

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Client's Challenge

To meet a global, growing demand for solar-grade silicon for the photovoltaic industry, Jiangxi LDK PV Silicon Technology Co., Ltd. needed the services of a global EPC leader. LDK contracted with Fluor to design and build the world's largest polysilicon plant next to its existing multicrystalline solar wafer facility in Xinyu City.

LDK selected Fluor because of its ability to integrate and manage the activities of multiple widely dispersed vendors, design institutes, and thousands of construction workers in order to complete the fast-track project.

Several Technology Know-How Providers (TKHPs) are responsible for providing the basic engineering packages for their scopes of work and / or associated equipment. Packages produced by the TKHPs include CVD reactors and converters, offgas recovery units, and tricholorosilane (TCS) technology.

From a technology perspective, these TKHPs were under contract directly to LDK; however, LDK contracted with Fluor to integrate all the packages and complete detailed engineering to meet the 2009 start-up date.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor, with its extensive experience and knowledge, provided in-house engineering for both the polysilicon plant and the TCS plant, working with the Chinese design institutes to carry out design of utilities, infrastructure, and offsites (U&I&O), and oversaw construction by a local workforce to deliver this project to LDK on schedule.

Fluor also acted as integrator of all TKHP activities to assure that engineering packages and equipment were delivered to meet the schedule.

The company used a multi-office execution approach to the LDK project with Fluor engineering teams in Greenville, South Carolina; Manila, the Philippines; and Shanghai, PRC. The company also worked closely with two Chinese design institutes in Chengdu for detailed design of U&I&O and drawing reviews. Procurement was handled in Fluor's Shanghai office.

The project achieved a significant safety milestone in mid-September 2008 when more than 6 million craft hours were worked without a single lost-time incident (DART-L). This major milestone is a result of Fluor's Zero Incidents℠ program, implemented to educate employees and raise awareness of safe work habits.

Fluor continues to provide debottlenecking services at the plant and is implementing new technologies to increase the production for this state-of-the-art facility.

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Conclusion

Fluor integrated the activities of multiple TKHPs, design institutes, vendors, and construction personnel to complete this fast-track project for LDK. Fluor completed the first of three production lines in record time to allow LDK to begin first production of photovoltaic polycrystalline silicon in less than 24 months after construction started. The other two production lines were completed to meet LDK's schedule and budget requirements.

The project required more than 38 million work hours with only one lost-time incident. This safety achievement was the result of the entire team's unwavering commitment to safety.

The LDK Polysilicon project received Fluor's 2011 Hugh Coble Project Excellence Award. The award is based on outstanding performance in several areas; including safety, value creation, and Client and community relations.

Fluor was a finalist in the 2012 Platts' Premier Project Award in engineering category for completion of the fast-track LDK Polysilicon project in Xinyu City, PRC.