Cheaper PV chips?

Reducing the cost of solar-grade silicon is seen as important for increasing the worldwide use of photovoltaics and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels. A new process under development at the University of Cambridge has the potential to drive down the cost of manufacturing solar-grade silicon. Based on the electrochemical FFC process the group has devised a two stage method that uses calcium chloride in the reduction of sand to make high purity silicon. They believe that the process will drive down the cost of manufacturing solar-grade silicon from around the current $40–200/kg to a maximum of $8/kg,