NIB finances expansion of silicon production for solar industry

A EUR 145 million loan from NIB will help Orkla ASA, Norway, to finance a new factory producing high-grade silicon metal for the solar cell industry. The production will help meet the growing need for solar-grade silicon while using environmentally friendly technology.

The loan agreement between NIB and Orkla ASA was signed yesterday at the Bank’s headquarters in Helsinki, Finland. The 12-year-maturity loan will help finance a new factory in Kristiansand in southern Norway producing high-grade silicon metal for the solar cell industry. The project is being carried out by Elkem Solar AS, a subsidiary of Orkla. The production capacity of the factory is 6,000 tonnes per year.

Elkem is a global supplier of silicon, an essential component in the solar power business. The company has developed new technology to produce solar-grade silicon that consumes significantly less energy than other methods, thus lowering production costs as well as air and water emissions. The silicon produced with the new Elkem technology has been verified to fulfil the quality requirements of the solar industry.

“This project is an ideal example of an investment that promotes both competitiveness in one of our member countries and enhances the environment. Elkem’s new technologies put it at the cutting edge of the solar energy market, which is expected to expand even further as the need for clean energy becomes increasingly important,” says Hilde Kjelsberg, Vice-President and Head of Credit and Analysis at NIB.

NIB is a multilateral financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact:

Ms Hilde Kjelsberg, Vice-President and Head of Credit and Analysis at NIB, at +358 10 618 280