LONGi has won 2 major awards at The smarter E AWARD 2025 held in Munich, Germany. The company received the ‘Innovative Solar Technology’ award for its Hi-MO X10 module and the ‘Outstanding Projects’ award for its 3,000 Nm³/h ALK G-series hydrogen electrolyzer. LONGi says it is the only Chinese clean energy enterprise to win in 2 categories this year.
The smarter E AWARD annually honors companies and products that contribute significantly to smart, sustainable, and efficient energy solutions. LONGi’s Hi-MO X10 module features HPBC 2.0 cell technology and TaiRay silicon wafers, combined with innovations such as 0BB interconnection and dual-bipolar passivation. The module, with mass-production power output of 670 W and up to 24.8% efficiency, was noted for its high performance and refined aesthetics.
Also recognized was LONGi’s ALK G-series electrolyzer, currently the world’s largest commercial water electrolysis hydrogen production system in operation. It demonstrates notable advantages in energy efficiency, system integration, and scalability. Already deployed in a hydrogen-rich blast furnace steelmaking project in China, the system has proven its reliability in industrial settings.
LONGi also announced the upcoming launch of its EcoLife series modules at Intersolar Europe 2025, specifically tailored for the residential market (see Next-Gen LONGi PV Modules At Intersolar Europe 2025).
Leading PV and ESS provider JinkoSolar has delivered 1 GW of its n-type TOPCon bifacial modules to CGN's Delingha CSP-PV hybrid project in Qinghai Province. The project, which combines solar photovoltaic generation with thermal energy storage, is designed to provide a stable 24-hour electricity supply using the solar thermal plant as a peaking power source. Once fully completed, it is expected to generate 1.8 billion kWh annually.
JinkoSolar is the exclusive module supplier for the first phase of this project. The company says the supplied modules have passed the UVID90 test (90 kWh/m², 6 times the IEC61215 UV15 kWh/m² standard), demonstrating excellent UV degradation resistance of less than 2%. The modules show a first-year degradation of only 1%, with an annual linear degradation rate of 0.4%. The company adds that with a temperature coefficient as low as -0.29%/°C, the modules maintain high performance even in surface temperatures exceeding 60°C during summer, ensuring long-term stable and efficient plant operation.
JinkoSolar topped the list in the recently released IPRdaily global solar cell & module patent rankings with 2,773 patents (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Perovskite cell and module manufacturer UtmoLight has announced a new ‘world record’ for large-area perovskite modules. According to TÜV Rheinland testing, modules from the company’s GW-scale mass production line achieved a stabilized efficiency of 17.04% over a full area of 2.82 m², a new benchmark in the industry. The tested module reached a stabilized power output of 480.5 W, with a maximum voltage of 145.48 V and a fill factor of 79.9%.
In March 2025, UtmoLight's 0.72 m2 commercial perovskite module – produced using the same manufacturing process – received certification from the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with a full-area stabilized efficiency of 18.1%. And last month, its UL-M12 (0.72 m²) and UL-M23 (2.8 m²) perovskite modules passed TÜV Rheinland’s RoHS testing (see China Solar PV News Snippets).
Solar glass manufacturer Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Group (SYP) has announced that its majority-owned subsidiary, Shanghai Yaopi Engineering Glass Co., Ltd., will invest RMB 284.22 million ($39.3 million) to install a quadruple silver low-E coating line, an automated warehousing system, and other deep-processing and supporting equipment. The project aims to add an annual production capacity of 1.15 million m2 of processed glass. Construction is expected to take 2.5 years and will support the production of building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) glass, curtain wall glass, full-sheet coated glass for appliances, and marine glass.
Earlier this year, SYP also announced plans to raise up to RMB 3 billion ($415 million) through a targeted share issuance to fund upgrades at its glass manufacturing facilities in Dalian and Tianjin (see China Solar PV News Snippets). Once upgraded, the production lines will be capable of manufacturing TCO glass for thin-film solar modules.
According to the China New Energy Consumption Monitoring and Early Warning Center, the national solar power utilization rate in March 2025 dropped to 93.6%, while wind power utilization fell to 92.8%. This represents a significant year-over-year decline from March 2024, when utilization rates stood at 96.4% for solar and 96.3% for wind.
In the first quarter of 2025, solar and wind power utilization rates averaged 93.8% and 93.4%, respectively, both below the 96% levels recorded during the same period last year.
Between 2020 and early 2024, China mandated a minimum renewable energy utilization rate of 95% nationwide. However, in May 2024, the State Council released the 2024–2025 Energy Saving and Carbon Reduction Action Plan, which lowered the threshold to 90% in an effort to further boost energy consumption from non-fossil-fuel sources.
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