China PV News Snippets

LONGi to introduce TOPCon technology in 30 GW factory; Aiko registers 2.8 billion net profit in 2022; Trina Solar releases Q1/2023 forecast; Shangji Automation discloses 2022 shipment details; MINGR to build 20 GW PV cell facility.

LONGi's approves 30 GW facility introducing TOPCon technology: In an announcement, Chinese vertically integrated solar PV company LONGi said that its 30 GW monocrystalline cell facility will be introducing n-type TOPCon cell technology. With this, the conversion efficiency of mass-produced cells will cross over 25%. The production is expected to begin in August 2023 and once it reaches its complete capacity, the average annual operating income is expected to be about RMB 17.9 billion ($2.6 billion) and the average annual net profit will be about RMB 2.9 billion ($0.42 billion). Last year, the company signed an agreement with the People's Government of Ordos City, and the People's Government of Yijinhuoluo to construct a 46 GW monocrystalline silicon ingot and wafer facility, a 30 GW high-efficiency monocrystalline cell facility and a 5 GW high-efficiency photovoltaic module facility in Mengsu Economic Development Zone. However, the company reviewed and approved the proposal for its 30 GW monocrystalline cell facility. At the recent TaiyangNews Solar Module Innovations Conference held in January 2023, Luka Qiu, Product Promoting Manager, LONGi spoke on the topic: A Year of Solar Efficiency Records. Looking Back and Forth (see Luka Qiu, LONGi: 2022 – A Year of Solar Efficiency Records. Looking Back and Forth).

Aiko Solar's net profit at 2.8 billion in 2022:  Chinese solar cell producer Aiko Solar announced its 2022 performance report. During the reporting period, the company's total operating income was at RMB 35 billion ($5.09 billion), a year-on-year increase of 126.72%; and a net profit of RMB 2.3 billion ($0.33 billion), a year-on-year increase of 1954.33%. The company attributed this growth to strong demand of new photovoltaic installations around the world, even as the solar cell segment, especially large-size cell, were in short supply. This enabled the company to seize market opportunities and accelerate its large-scale production capacity. Today, the production capacity of large-scale cell accounts for more than 95%. Also, the company took efforts to strengthen the management of the supply chain, ensuring continuity and stability of the company's supply chain; and through effective management, controlled its production costs, which led to rise in capacity utilization rate. As Aiko expands into the modules segment, it has just released a new high efficiency product (see Record Efficiency Solar Module From Aiko).

Trina Solar forecasts Q1/2023 performance: Chinese vertically integrated solar company Trina Solar announced its performance forecast for the first quarter of 2023. The company expects to achieve a net profit of RMB 1.3 to 1.8 billion ($0.19 – $0.26 billion), a year-on-year increase of 139% to 231%. The main reasons for the growth, the company said, are:

• First, it has taken full advantage of its global brand, channels, and the distribution market, leading to rapid development of its photovoltaic product business. The shipment volume and sales revenue of photovoltaic modules have also increased significantly, compared with the same period last year.
• Second, during the reporting period, it had benefited from the substantial increase in the company's advanced production capacity. The proportion of sales of its high-power 210 series photovoltaic products have increased significantly compared to the same period last year, while the comprehensive cost of products has decreased. This has led to increased profitability of the company's photovoltaic products.

Shangji Automation discloses 2022 shipment details: Ingot and wafer maker Shangji Automation, in an announcement, disclosed its shipments for 2022:

• The company's monocrystalline silicon wafer shipments were 31.18 GW, a year-on-year increase of 79.09% as compared to 2021
• The company has invested in the solar monocrystalline silicon business since 2019, and by the end of 2022, it had about 35 GW crystallization capacity.

MINGR to build 20 GW PV cell factory: Jewelry enterprise MINGR said that it has signed a deal with the Keqiao Economic Development Zone and will be building a 20 GW solar cell factory. With an investment of RMB 10 billion ($1.4 billion), the facility will be built in two phases. The first phase focuses on TOPCon technology cells with a production capacity of 10 GW, while in the second phase will 6 GW capacity of TOPCon technology cells and 4 GW capacity of HJT technology cells will be built.