Sonangol and the Chinese company QINGHAI LIHAO CLEAN ENERGY signed a Memorandum of Understanding last Friday, October 18, to develop a project within the photovoltaic solar energy industrial chain in Angola. This initiative aims to establish the production of photovoltaic panels using quartz ore as the primary raw material.
The planned factory will have an annual production capacity of 180,000 tons of metallurgical silicon and 150,000 tons of polysilicon, with an initial phase target of producing 50,000 tons.
According to Sonangol’s statement, the memorandum, signed by Sonangol’s chairman Gaspar Martins and QINGHAI LIHAO CLEAN ENERGY’s executive director Wang Fu, sets the stage for Angola to establish its own solar panel industry in the coming years. The industry will be based on quartz extraction and the production of metallurgical silicon and polysilicon for solar panel manufacturing.
The project aligns with the goal of retaining and processing these minerals domestically, rather than exporting raw materials, and will play a crucial role in Angola’s energy transition strategy, with solar energy being a key component.