LONGi expects a net loss of RMB 6.0–6.5 billion in 2025, its 2nd consecutive year of losses
The company points to weak pricing, supply-demand imbalance, trade barriers, and rising costs for silver paste and silicon as key factors responsible
To cut costs, LONGi plans to replace silver with base metals in its solar cells while focusing on back contact technology
LONGi Green Energy Technology, one of the world’s largest solar PV manufacturers, expects to report between RMB 6.0 billion and RMB 6.5 billion in net loss for the year 2025.
This will be the 2nd consecutive year of net loss for the manufacturer, reflecting the overall situation in the PV industry, which continues to be impacted by supply-demand imbalances, low prices, and trade barriers. LONGi, however, forecasts a narrowing of its net loss from RMB 8.6 billion in the previous year, when it also suffered a 36.23% year-over-year (YoY) drop in operating revenues.
Sharing the company’s preliminary business results for 2025, LONGi says last year the industry was constrained by persistently low product prices and cost pressures. Additionally, the cost of silver paste and silicon materials rose sharply in Q4 2025, which in turn pushed up the production costs of silicon wafers, cells, and modules.
Earlier this month, LONGi declared that it will begin substituting base metals for silver in its solar cells. It expects to start mass production of such solar cells in Q2 2026 to further reduce module costs.
The solar PV industry is one of the largest consumers of silver, with TOPCon and silicon heterojunction (SHJ) technologies requiring more silver per watt compared to back contact (BC), the technology of choice for LONGi.
According to the 16th edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV), TOPCon and IBC consumed around 110 mg silver per cell in 2024, while SHJ consumed about 140 mg/cell. It expects the difference in silver consumption between TOPCon and SHJ to fade away over the next 10 years. Instead, interest is growing in reducing silver use by replacing it with copper plating or even silver-coated copper (see Solar PV Industry Sets 703 GW Shipment Record in 2024).
LONGi says it focused on high-value, scenario-based solutions using BC technology to strengthen its business during the reporting period, which was marked by power market reforms in China and trade barriers overseas.
It is not just LONGi; several other leading Chinese manufacturers also expect to report losses in 2025, including JinkoSolar and Daqo New Energy (see China Solar PV News Snippets).