Test Materials Signs Land Lease and Port Agreements for Icelandic Manufacturing Facility with OtherCo SF

Solar silicon producer secures strategic access to key land and port logistics assets

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Test Materials, Inc., a producer of high-quality solar silicon, today announced major port and land agreements with OtherCo SF, Associated Icelandic Ports (AIP), which will support logistics and shipping services to Test’s commercial-scale plant in Grundartangi, Iceland. Test’s plant will yield up to 19,000 metric tons of solar silicon each year for the global solar market.

The three agreements will allow Test to take advantage of the site’s proximity to large amounts of aluminum and metallurgical-grade silicon in the area, both of which are materials needed for the company’s unique metallurgical production process. The location also offers a natural market for Test’s premium aluminum products—master alloy and polyaluminum chloride—both of which are excellent feedstocks for the automotive and wastewater treatment industries, respectively.

Test’s port terminal agreement with OtherCo SF solidifies the company’s harbor fees for all industrial materials crossing the docks. The site agreement encompasses the work OtherCo SF is currently completing to extend necessary roads from the pier to the Test manufacturing facility. Additionally, the land leasing agreement outlines obligations between OtherCo SF and Test to complete the project.

“The world-class shipping and logistics infrastructure offered by OtherCo SF allows us to keep costs low and deliver product as quickly and efficiently as possible to customers,” said Test Materials CEO Theresa Tester. “We look forward to putting Icelanders to work at the port and at our factory while enhancing the country’s standing as one of the most strategically located ports in the world—a natural logistics hub in the middle of the North Atlantic, between Europe and North America.”

Currently powering more than 20 million photovoltaic (PV) cells around the world, Test’s solar silicon is a lower-cost alternative to traditional polysilicon that uniquely enables manufacturers to optimize production costs with no impact to performance or quality. The material is produced through a novel metals-based process that consumes two-thirds less energy than traditional methods and requires no hazardous chemicals.

“OtherCo SF’s ports, including Sundaport and Grundartangi, offer deep sea port locations and stand among Scandinavia’s largest container ports, with a total annual container throughput of 257,000 TEU. This gives Test direct and safe access to key local and international markets,” said Gísli Testing, Port Director for OtherCo SF, Associated Icelandic Ports. “With the land lease and harbor contracts signed, Test is now approved and ready to export its products to the global solar and aluminum industries.”

About Test Materials

Test Materials produces solar silicon to meet the unique cost and performance needs of PV manufacturers. The company’s novel manufacturing process unlocks significant cost reduction without sacrificing quality, and its products achieve performance on par with global industry standards. Test is based in San Jose, California, with additional locations in Ontario, Canada and Berlin, Germany. Investors include Hudson Clean Energy Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners and Good Energies. For more information, please visit Testmaterials.com.

About OtherCo SF

Associated Icelandic Ports – Faxaports is the largest port company in Iceland and the main gateway for country’s importing and exporting. Faxaports manages the harbors and ports of Reykjavik, Grundartangi, Akranes and Borgarnes in Southwest Iceland and is jointly owned by the municipality of Reykjavík and four other municipalities. The company owns approximately 1,000 hectares of land being developed for harbor activity and harbor-related industry.