Live Blog: Jun. 2, 2026: TaiyangNews Solar & Storage Procurement Briefing.China 2026

Speaking at SSPB.C 2026, Sunil Badesra, Country Director, Sungrow India, presented the company's PV inverter and energy storage portfolio for the Indian market. The portfolio includes products for utility-scale, commercial & industrial (C&I), and energy storage applications, including the 1+X 2.0 modular inverter platform, SG150CX and SG80/110/125CX-P3 string inverters, the PT3.0 energy storage system, and the PowerStack series for C&I storage applications. Badesra also highlighted Sungrow's global manufacturing footprint across China, India, Thailand, and Poland. The company reported 270 GW of inverter manufacturing capacity and 100 GWh of energy storage production capacity. Sungrow further noted inverter shipments of 143 GW in 2025 and its No. 1 ranking in BloombergNEF's inverter bankability survey.

Procurement decisions for utility-scale solar projects are increasingly influenced by factors beyond upfront equipment costs. Juan Manuel Rivarola, Sales Director LATAM at Antaisolar, discussed emerging industry trends, including reliability, bankability, and long-term project value. He added that developers are increasingly considering supply-chain resilience when selecting equipment for large-scale solar projects.

CORNEX outlined its battery manufacturing operations and expansion plans. Alexis Issaharoff, Senior Vice President at CORNEX New Energy Co., Ltd., said the company operates 4 production bases in Wuhan, Xiaogan, Yichang, and Xiangyang, with 110 GWh of operational battery manufacturing capacity and a long-term target of 550 GWh. Its business covers battery energy storage systems and electric vehicle batteries. According to the company, its production lines have a 98% automation rate, a throughput of 15 pieces per minute, and more than 3,500 process control points. The presentation also covered CORNEX's manufacturing infrastructure, R&D resources, and battery storage portfolio.

Chailyn Chen, General Manager BESS for APAC & MEA at Hoymiles, presented the company's energy storage portfolio for commercial, industrial, and utility-scale applications. The company showcased the HoyUltra 2 all-in-one battery system, HoyCore liquid-cooled battery system, a 125 kW PCS platform, and the HoyPrime containerized storage solution. Chen also discussed storage configurations designed for longer-duration applications. Hoymiles highlighted its global presence across more than 190 markets and its manufacturing footprint spanning China and overseas facilities. 

Kaiji Ren, Head of Product Department at Jinko ESS, discussed the growing importance of integration across battery energy storage systems. The company presented its full-stack approach spanning battery cells, BMS, PCS, and EMS technologies. According to Jinko ESS, coordination between hardware, controls, and communication systems is becoming increasingly important as storage projects scale in size and complexity.

Jinko ESS also presented its latest SunTera utility-scale storage platform, including the 6.25 MWh SunTera G3 system. The company said its ESS manufacturing capacity is planned to increase from 20 GWh by the end of 2025 to 37 GWh by Q3 2026.

At SSPB.C 2026, Nikunj Chapla, Operations Lead – BESS at RCT Energy, discussed the need for diversified and bankable battery energy storage supply chains. He pointed to factors such as procurement risks, local content requirements, and supply-chain resilience. He also outlined plans for a 10 GWh BESS manufacturing facility in Telangana. According to the company, the project will manufacture liquid-cooled LFP-based battery energy storage systems, and is expected to create 600 direct jobs and more than 1,200 indirect jobs. Commercial operations for the first phase are targeted for 2027.

Utility-scale energy storage is increasingly moving toward vertically integrated solutions. Jack Wang, Head of Overseas Product Management at Trina Storage, presented the company's strategy of integrating technologies from battery cells through to AC-side systems. The company's portfolio spans battery cells, storage systems, and smart energy management platforms. Trina Storage reported an in-house manufacturing capacity of 25 GWh and an integrated verification platform. Wang also noted that Trina Storage had delivered more than 20 GWh of storage systems globally by the end of 2025. He added that projects deployed across different regions operate under a wide range of environmental conditions.

Commercial and industrial energy storage was the focus of GoodWe's presentation at SSPB.C 2026. Henry He, Sales Director of GoodWe SEA, showcased the company's storage portfolio, including the ESA Series rated at 125 kW/261 kWh and hybrid inverter and battery solutions ranging from 40 kW to 125 kW. The company highlighted features such as AI-driven energy management, low-noise operation, and integrated safety functions for commercial and industrial applications.

Tina Chen, Marketing Manager at KUKA Cable, discussed the growing importance of cable reliability as PV systems continue to increase in power and current. Citing industry data, she noted that 74% of PV project failures originate from DC-side faults. Issues such as insulation damage, contact resistance, and cable aging can affect both system safety and performance. Chen emphasized the importance of rigorous testing and quality control to support long-term reliability in solar and energy storage installations.

Alex Hang, Asia Pacific President at AIKO, highlighted the company's ABC module technology and its performance under shaded conditions during the conference. According to AIKO, independent testing showed that when a single cell is fully shaded, an ABC module can deliver around 90% of its power output, compared to about 59% for a TOPCon module. The company said the cell architecture allows only the shaded area to be affected, helping maintain power generation under partial-shading conditions.

Solamet has focused on advancing metallization technologies for solar cells for more than a decade. Kaien Chang, VP of Technology – Overseas Business at Solamet, highlighted several approaches to reducing silver consumption in TOPCon manufacturing, including Ag-Ni finger pastes, Ag-Cu conductors, and Cu-based pastes. The company presented its PV46 copper paste platform for TOPCon and BC solar cells and outlined its roadmap toward low-silver and silver-free metallization. Chang also presented data for a silver-coated copper paste containing 30% silver and discussed its performance after thermal processing, as well as process considerations for integrating copper-based metallization into solar cell manufacturing.

Archon Lai, Chief Marketing Officer at China S.C, presented the company's next-generation LPCVD platform for TOPCon manufacturing. The system features a reaction tube inner diameter of 1,440 mm and supports wafer sizes of up to 230 mm. According to Lai, the LPCVD equipment offers a single-tube loading capacity of 8,640 wafers and is designed to support large-scale production of high-efficiency TOPCon solar cells. The platform incorporates a large-diameter reaction-tube architecture and is designed to improve throughput while maintaining process uniformity across large wafer batches. Lai said the platform is part of China S.C's end-to-end equipment offering for TOPCon solar cell manufacturing.

Eric Ast-Comoli, Global Segment Manager Solar at Stäubli, presented the company's new BCC-Evo connector, which is scheduled for launch at SNEC 2026. Designed for solar and energy storage applications, the connector supports current ratings of up to 350 A, with versions exceeding 450 A under development. BCC-Evo combines a compact design with improved heat dissipation and is certified for both 1,500 V and 2,000 V systems. The design also helps reduce cable size requirements while lowering the risk of connector crimping issues, adds Eric.

Ben Lee, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at DR Laser, highlighted the use of laser technologies in TBC solar cell manufacturing. He outlined the production sequence, showing how laser patterning and laser contact opening are incorporated into key stages of the process flow. These laser-based steps help create the precise structures required for advanced back-contact cell architectures and support high-efficiency solar cell production.

Lee also shared performance data from its laser processing platforms. The company reported throughput of up to 9,000 wafers/hour and cited mass-production efficiency gains of up to 0.15% absolute, along with improvements in bifaciality and module power output.

Michael Wang, Product & Technology Director at Fusion, presented a roadmap targeting silver consumption of around 5 mg/W for future TOPCon architectures. The approach combines finer finger widths, optimized emitter structures, improved passivation layers, and advances in metallization processes. The company also discussed developments such as poly-finger structures and low-resistance contacts aimed at supporting higher cell efficiencies while reducing material usage.

Wei-Min Li, CTO and Vice Chairman of Leadmicro, presented the company's TOPCon 4.0 turnkey manufacturing solution. The production flow combines diffusion, PE-Poly deposition, ALD, PECVD, metallization, and EPT processing within an integrated manufacturing platform.

A key focus of the presentation was Leadmicro's EPT 2.0 technology. The approach reduces wrap-around effects at the wafer edge and supports finer edge control. Leadmicro also highlighted compatibility with half-cut, 3-cut, and 4-cut-cell formats. The company also presented solutions for TOPCon, TBC, and tandem solar cell manufacturing.

Autowell presented its PV cell screen-printing line designed for both full-cell and half-cell production. Tony Hui, General Manager Assistant Autowell, said the system combines linear and reciprocating printing technologies to increase throughput and improve printing accuracy.

 According to Autowell, the platform supports cycle times below 0.7 seconds for 182 mm cells and is compatible with half-cut cell printing. The company also noted that the use of high-speed linear motors and direct-drive motors helps improve process precision.

 The production line integrates multiple process steps, including printing, drying, wafer buffering, firing, inspection, and sorting, within a single automated platform. Autowell positioned the system as part of its approach to higher-capacity cell metallization for advanced solar cell manufacturing.

Dr. Kamel Ounadjela, General Manager – International Business Unit at Laplace, discussed developments in advanced solar manufacturing. He presented the company's equipment portfolio spanning LPCVD, PECVD, ALD, laser processing, automation systems, and factory logistics solutions. Ounadjela also outlined Laplace's integrated manufacturing approach, covering key production stages from deposition and laser processing to automation and testing. He highlighted its deployment of manufacturing solutions across solar cell production facilities worldwide, as well as developments supporting TOPCon, HIBC, and tandem solar technologies.

Attendees from across the solar and energy storage industries have gathered in Shanghai for the conference. The event brings together manufacturers, developers, EPCs, procurement teams, and technology suppliers ahead of SNEC 2026. Discussions off the conference floor – focusing on solar manufacturing technologies, energy storage developments, and market opportunities – set the stage for a day of presentations covering production equipment, materials, battery storage systems, and procurement trends.

Today's program covers developments across both solar manufacturing and energy storage.

The session on solar will feature updates on production equipment, laser processing technologies, passivation solutions, and encapsulation materials. Speakers will also discuss manufacturing innovations aimed at improving cell and module performance while reducing production costs.

The storage session will cover developments in battery cells, battery packs, utility-scale storage systems, and C&I applications. Also on the agenda are hybrid inverter technologies and emerging approaches to deploying energy storage.

The sessions provide a preview of some of the technologies expected to attract attention at SNEC 2026, which opens tomorrow in Shanghai.

Stay tuned as presentations begin shortly.

We are getting ready to go live from Shanghai with the TaiyangNews Solar & Storage Procurement Briefing.China 2026, taking place 1 day before SNEC 2026.

The event brings together procurement leaders, EPCs, developers, and technology suppliers with the latest developments in solar manufacturing and the energy storage sector. Through a series of concise 10-minute talks, speakers will present updates on production equipment, manufacturing materials, battery technologies, energy storage systems, and inverter solutions.

As the industry continues to focus on efficiency improvements, manufacturing innovation, energy security, and large-scale storage deployment, today's discussions will provide an early look at many of the technologies expected to feature prominently during SNEC.

Stay tuned for live updates as we begin shortly.