Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) and Intel were the world’s biggest electric vehicle battery maker companies who have been shutting down their factories for the six days in China’s Sichuan province due to the heatwave-related power shortage within the area.

HIGHLIGHTS
For the six days in China’s Sichuan province the factories going to be shutdown
The temperatures have spiked to 104 degrees Fahrenheit in many cities
Temporary shutdown may increase the value of both the polysilicon and lithium

Well, such a move would affect factories which belonged to companies like Tesla’s battery supplier CATL, Apple’s supplier Foxconn Technology, Toyota, Texas Instruments, Volkswagen, Onsemi, and many more.

China had ordered all Sichuan factories to put a pause on operations till 20th August in order to alleviate the pressure placed on the power grid after China’s worst heatwave in 60 years has resulted in increasing the usage of air conditioning machines. As per media, temperatures have spiked to 104 degrees Fahrenheit in many cities (40 degrees Celsius).

The authorities have been mentioning that they have been trying to conserve power for residences within the region as officials were warned that Sichuan has been facing the “most severe and extreme moment” in power supply. That was because the region was completely reliant on hydropower which had been making it more vulnerable to the heatwave and drought which had been also drying up the hydro dam reservoirs.

Well, Sichuan has been considered as a crucial area for semiconductor and solar panel industries. The manufacturers have flock to the mineral resource rich region for raw materials which were employed in the solar photovoltaic and electronics industries, such as polysilicon. It has been considered as a key solar panel ingredient. The province has been a vital mining hub for lithium, which was utilized to produce electric car and smartphone batteries.

Some analysts would believe the temporary shutdown may increase the value of both the polysilicon and lithium as the supply goes down. As per the reports, in just two days of shutdown the value of polysilicon had indeed increased.

However, some companies don’t tend to anticipate an excessive amount of disruption. As per the reports, Foxconn that makes Apple’s iPads within the region has mention that the drought has not impacted them too much till now. Meanwhile, on Monday Volkswagen had reportedly remarked that it was not at all expecting long delivery delays.

Also Read: After Quarterly Revenue Drop Apple has Rebounded the Demand in China