TOPCon: “Innovation To Achieve Sustainable Solar Future”

• At a recent TaiyangNews Special Focus Webinar on TOPCon, JA Solar's Wolfgang Löhnert discussed the company's technology focus 
• Its DeepBlue 4.0 TOPCon modules are growing their clout in the manufacturer's overall production capacity plans thanks to increasing demand 
• Along with technological advancement, the management is also working on improving its sustainability efforts as a green energy manufacturer  

Starting as a solar cell producer back in 2005, JA Solar is today one of the leading vertically integrated solar PV manufacturers from China, fast spreading its manufacturing footprint geographically.  

Speaking at the TaiyangNews Special Focus Webinar on TOPCon, The New State of the Art-The Versatile Technology Platform Serving Different Applications JA Solar's Director Sales, DACH, Spain and Portugal PV Power Plants, Wolfgang Löhnert said in his presentation titled "Driving Innovation Towards A Sustainable Future" that in-house vertical integration is a crucial factor for a company to ensure reliable PV modules. 

By the end of 2023, the company plans to raise its total module manufacturing capacity to 95 GW, while capacity of ingots, wafers and cells will grow to 85 GW each as it aims to become self-sufficient to produce its modules. A major chunk of this capacity is located within China, it also includes some cell capacity in Malaysia, cells and modules in Vietnam and now an upcoming module plant in the US. 

The share of DeepBlue 4.0 series of TOPCon modules will grow to 60% of the company's overall module production capacity at the end of 2023, and account for 70% of all module capacity by 2024-end, according to Löhnert. 

In terms of applications, Löhnert said JA sees strong interest for TOPCon modules in the utility-scale market as of now, but the rooftop market is quickly picking up pace, especially in Europe. 

While China is the biggest single market for JA, accounting for 42% of the company's total shipments in 2022, Europe was next with 30%. Since Europe had a 20% market share in terms of total global installations by region last year, JA considers it as a tier I and a strong market for the company. 

Pointing to the various certifications for its products from 3rd parties, Löhnert said its products qualify for all applications, from ground mounted to floating solar across all geographies. 

Löhnert specifically spoke about sustainability at JA as it actively takes part in global initiatives as CDP for supply chain, WBCSD, Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) China Council, among others. 

He claimed that the company's 6 manufacturing bases have been awarded as green manufacturing factories in China, and 5 manufacturing bases certified to ISO50001 energy management system. Almost 7 million cubic meters of water is reused, and the company uses 27% green electricity in its production processes. 

In its efforts to establish a green industry chain, the manufacturer helps its suppliers in securing carbon footprint certification of raw materials supplied to the company, works on green packaging and its recycling, and low carbon logistics, for instance switching forklift trucks from oil to electricity. 

In terms of module dismantling and recycling, JA initiated the establishment of Photovoltaic Recycling Industry Development Cooperation Center, and established a strategic partnership with PV CYCLE.  

The entire presentation from Löhnert can be viewed on TaiyangNews YouTube channel.