China Solar PV News Snippets: AIKO & ISC Konstanz To Host BifiPV Workshop & More

AIKO and ISC Konstanz to host BifiPV Workshop in Zhuhai

Leading solar manufacturer AIKO has announced that it will co-host the BifiPV Workshop with ISC Konstanz from November 20 to 22, 2024, in Zhuhai, China. The event will have 400 global experts, from leading institutions such as ISC Konstanz, NREL, Sandia National Laboratories, CEA INES, QEERI, SERIS, ZHAW, Gunam, PVEL, ATAMOSTEC, and AIKO, discuss bifacial XBC technology. Many in the industry believe the technology is poised to revolutionize large-scale PV installations with the lowest Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE), potentially dropping below 1¢/kWh. The workshop will consist of sessions covering cutting-edge materials, advanced cell R&D, innovative module design, PV system optimization, and evolving standards. Attendees can also take a tour of AIKO's factory and zero-carbon projects.

AIKO recently announced a strategic partnership with the Brunel Solar Team to equip the Dutch team's new solar car, Nuna 12S, with its high-efficiency n-type ABC cells (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Drinda New Energy reports net loss for H1 2024; ranks 1^st in n-type cell shipments

Drinda New Energy, the parent company of Jietai Solar (JTPV), reported a 32.35% year-over-year (YoY) decrease in revenues for the first half of 2024, at RMB 6.374 billion ($895.07 million). For the period, the company reported a net loss of RMB 390.29 million ($55.04 million), down 141.83% YoY.

The company reported total solar cell shipments of 19.21 GW for the 6-month period, which was up 68.51% YoY. Its n-type cell shipments totaled 16.43 GW for the period which, the company claims, makes it the world's largest supplier of n-type cells. Drinda launched a new generation of MoNo 2 n-type cells, featuring a bifacial rate of 90% and efficiency of over 26.3% during H1 2024. As of June 2024, Drinda had n-type cell production capacity of about 40 GW, with plans to build a 5 GW n-type cell production facility in Oman that is expected to be operational by 2025 (see Chinese Company Announces New 5 GW Solar Cell Production Fab In Oman).

Maxwell’s H1 2024 revenues up nearly 70% YoY

Solar cell production equipment maker Maxwell has reported revenues of RMB 4.869 billion ($687 million) for the first half of 2024, up 69.74%. Its net profit for the period totaled RMB 461 million ($65.04 million), up 8.63% YoY. Its solar PV segment accounted for 99.55% of the total revenues, reporting revenues of RMB 4.847 billion ($683.89 million), which was up 69.78% YoY. Its sales to other industries totaled RMB 22 million ($3.1 million), accounting for 0.45% and a YoY increase of 61.03%.

Recently, Maxwell published a joint paper in the scientific journal Joule, detailing its achievement of 31.5% steady-state efficiency for a perovskite/silicon tandem cell (see China Solar PV News Snippets).

Qingdian Silicon’s 10 GW monocrystalline silicon fab starts trial production

Vertically integrated solar manufacturer Qingdian Silicon has announced that it has started trial production at its 10 GW Phase I monocrystalline silicon ingot and wafer fab in Hami City, Xinjiang. The 10 GW Phase I is part of a larger 40 GW facility, which the company dubs as ‘Xinjiang's first high-efficiency n-type large-size monocrystalline silicon’ facility. Qingdian Silicon also has wafer and cell factories in Hefei City, Anhui Province. The company says that the Hami ingot and wafer factory completes its production chain for silicon-based solar products. The facility has currently completed joint testing and trials for 456 monocrystalline furnaces, with 800 furnaces expected to be installed by the end of this year. The company has set a go-live date of 2026 to bring the full 40 GW capacity of the facility online, with 3,000 monocrystalline furnaces.

SC-SOLAR launches Phase II of Kunshan City equipment manufacturing base

Solar equipment manufacturer SC-SOLAR has launched the Phase II of its New Energy Core Equipment Industrialization Base while simultaneously signing an agreement for Phase III of the base. Located in Bacheng Town, Kunshan City, the company is investing a total of RMB 1.5 billion ($207 million) in this manufacturing base, and aims to build its global manufacturing center for new energy core equipment. Being constructed in 3 phases, the facility will have an estimated output of RMB 5 billion ($692 million) once fully operational.

TBEA reports a loss for H1 2024; polysilicon production up 92.55%

Polysilicon manufacturer and power project developer TBEA has reported a YoY decrease of 4.54% in its H1 2024 revenues of RMB 47.80 billion ($6.74 billion). The company’s net profits declined 58.48% YoY, coming in at RMB 2.946 billion ($415.54 million). TBEA produced 146,500 tons of high-purity polysilicon during H1 2024 and sold 136,800 tons, up 92.55% and 58.86%, respectively. The company also acquired approximately 2.2 GW of new PV and wind power project development indicators and completed and confirmed revenue from PV and wind power construction projects totaling 1.35 GW. The power generation of its new energy BOO power stations reached 4.172 billion kWh during the period. Additionally, the company’s inverter shipments reached about 7 GW, up about 105% YoY.