Gokin rolls out 1st high-efficiency PV module; Tongwei Chairwoman's thoughts on whether BC cell can become mainstream; LONGi's HPBC cell returns to earth after 6-month space testing; Binhai Energy plans Si wafer and PV cell & module fabs; Songci launches SC-1600-Ⅲ single crystal furnace.
Gokin Solar rolls out its 1st high-efficiency PV module: Silicon wafer manufacturer Gokin Solar has announced its foray into PV modules by rolling out its 1st high-efficiency PV module off the production line. The company's fab located in Guangzhou City and is its 1st integrated base for PV module R&D and production. The base mainly produces 182 and 210 large-size high-efficiency module products based on the TOPCon technology.
Tongwei Chairwoman Liu Shuqi on whether BC cell can become mainstream technology: Answering a question on the company's Back Contact (BC) cell strategy at its Q3 2023 results briefing, Tongwei's Chairwoman Liu Shuqi said that there is still great uncertainty as to whether the BC cell route can become the mainstream technology route in the market in the future. She continued to say that although BC cells have the advantages of high aesthetics and high front-side power generation efficiency, they are more of a differentiated product and are not yet comparable to PERC and TOPCon cells in terms of mass production economy and reliability. Nevertheless, she said that the company will continue to promote R&D of BC cell technology and pay close attention to changes in market demand.
LONGi's HPBC cell successfully returns to ground after 6 months of testing in space: LONGi has announced that its HPBC cell, which was sent to space on the Shenzhou 15 on November 29, 2022, has successfully returned to the ground after 6 months of testing in space. LONGi said that its aim with this testing was to enable products to withstand the harsh space environment test, promote continuous upgrading of product quality in extremely harsh environments, and lead the industry to align with aerospace standards.
Binhai Energy to invest in PV cell & module integration and silicon wafer facilities: Binhai Energy has announced that it has signed 2 investment agreements to set up a PV cell & module facility and a silicon wafer facility. The company plans to invest RMB 5 billion ($683.3 million) in the PV cell & module facility which will produce 10 GW of solar cells and 5 GW of solar modules. The silicon wafer facility will involve approximately RMB 20.4 billion ($2.79 billion) in investment to produce 150,000 tons of industrial silicon, 120,000 tons of polysilicon, 40 GW of monocrystalline silicon ingots, 40 GW of monocrystalline silicon wafers and other ancillary facilities.
Songci Electromechanical releases new generation SC-1600-Ⅲ single crystal furnace: Automation equipment manufacturer Autowell Technology's subsidiary Wuxi Songci Electromechanical has launched its new generation single crystal furnace SC-1600-III. The company says that the SC-1600-Ⅲ provides a one-stop solution for the current difficulties faced by the industry such as high oxygen content in ingots, difficulty in quality improvement, imperfect equipment automation, high iteration costs, and difficulty in transformation. The furnace is said to be able to reduce oxygen content to 6 ppm to 7 ppm, leading it to effectively suppress oxygen impurities in the silicon liquid, improves the impurity removal capacity of the furnace, upgrades the oxygen reduction effect, and greatly improves the overall quality of the crystal. The SC-1600-Ⅲ features a one-button intelligent crystal pulling system and AI smart technology, which the company says can stably realize the automation of the entire crystal pulling process from feeding to crystal pulling to finishing with just one-button operation. The company also launched a supporting auxiliary equipment – OCZ furnace external feeding machine. It is a customizable charging equipment, which the company says can increase the crystal pulling yield by 5%. In August, the company had said that its new crystal growth furnace could boost cell efficiency by 0.1% (see Autowell Subsidiary Launches New Product).