Sun Zhian: PV companies must adhere to innovation to enhance their survivability

Since the beginning of this year, the prices of photovoltaic modules have continued to drop, and the sharp decrease in gross profit margin has led to nearly 1/3 of PV module companies in China being in production or semi-discontinued state. "The price of components sold cabbage" is not uncommon.

Photovoltaic industry as a whole shrouded in pessimism, some photovoltaic companies can not even see the industry and business development direction, in a confused, chaotic state. Some experts also expect that with the international market demand and policy uncertainty, the photovoltaic industry will continue to fall into the low phase of the industry development in the next 1-2 years. Zhao Yuwen, deputy director of the Renewable Energy Society, said: “The photovoltaic industry, like other industries, is bound to experience multiple peaks and troughs. Currently, the photovoltaic industry is in a trough period. In the long-term, the photovoltaic industry can develop rapidly. The trend will not change."

No matter how wonderful the prospects are, the market environment will continue to be harsh, and how to survive today will become a problem facing large and small photovoltaic companies. Phoenix Solar, chairman of Phoenix Solar, recently received an exclusive interview to discuss the issue of the photovoltaic industry for small and medium photovoltaic companies.

Industry reshuffling will optimize the industrial structure Q: At present, the PV market environment is harsh, and it is a huge test for a photovoltaic company that has just been established for two years. However, at present, the development of the Phoenix PV that has only been established for two years appears to be steady and sustained. Market fluctuations have little effect. Please analyze the reasons.

Sun Zhian: Since the first quarter of this year, due to the changes in the European market, especially in the Italian market, China has experienced pressure from components, batteries, silicon wafers, and even silicon materials throughout the industry chain. The lack of liquidity is a prominent issue for the photovoltaic industry. Filled with pessimistic, helpless voice.

As an ordinary Chinese PV company, Phoenix PV focuses on the ingot casting and slicing. It also feels the blistering winds in the industry. However, we are convinced that in the long term (in the next 5 years), the PV industry will still be good. First of all, judging from the policy guidance of various countries, the energy values ​​of various countries have undergone profound changes since the Great East Japan Earthquake. The sound of vigorously developing photovoltaics has been heard. The green, pollution-free energy sources such as photovoltaic power generation undoubtedly usher in great opportunities for development. Although the increase in the European market has slowed down, as the highland of the photovoltaic market, the German government has announced that the complete abandonment of nuclear weapons will inject a strong boost to the future development of the European market. In addition, emerging markets such as the United States, India, China, and Africa all have the requirements, capabilities, and conditions for the construction of large-scale photovoltaic power plants, which all indicate the potential for future development of the photovoltaic industry. Secondly, at present, the PV market is undergoing an unavoidable correction in the short-term. PV companies need to clearly understand that the development process of the PV industry will surely be a process of continuous reshuffling. Only through continuous technological innovation, we will eliminate backward production capacity and reduce costs. In order to optimize the industrial structure of the entire photovoltaic industry, we can gradually approach and achieve parity access to the Internet.

Quality Management Determines Core Competitiveness Q: Will the competition among PV companies depend on scale or technology? What is the core competitiveness of the company in the future?

Sun Zhian: We believe that both conditions of scale and technology are necessary conditions and can complement each other. The sustainable development of an enterprise depends on the ability of the company to innovate, but scaling up is the best way to quickly reduce production costs.

The core competitiveness of enterprises in the future should be mainly reflected in innovation and management. At present, Phoenix PV has the advantages of R&D and innovation, a highly capable team, and rapid action. Although Phoenix Photovoltaic always harbors the dream of making a big company, it is not simply seeking big, not aggressive, and proceeding cautiously. In the future, the company’s development will not only continue to focus on the development trend of photovoltaic technology, but will continue to increase investment in R&D, quickly connect R&D results with the market, and use external forces to promote the internationalization of the company and strengthen in-depth cooperation with international research institutions and terminal power station markets. In the meantime, it is necessary to take the promotion of the management level of the enterprise as the focus of work, and the management can ensure that the enterprise is always in the lead in the competition.

Earlier this year, Fenghuang Photovoltaic established an operating headquarters in Shanghai to coordinate and coordinate the company's strategic management, investment business, strategic procurement and sales functions, and gradually expand the tentacles of Phoenix PV. Phoenix PV has been developing along the lines of “strengthening R&D, innovation, and actively expanding the end market”. At present, it seems that there has been a degree of relaxation and development has continued steadily. In the next three years, Phoenix Photovoltaic will increase its own capital strength through the introduction of strategic investment, positioning itself as a provider of high-performance silicon wafers, and continuously promoting independent innovation to bring newer and more valuable value to customers. Phoenix Photovoltaic will increase investment, actively deploy the end market of the industrial chain, and rapidly expand the construction of solar power plants.

Technological innovation enhances survivability Q: At present, in the middle reaches of the photovoltaic industry chain, quasi-monocrystalline silicon has become the mainstream technology trend of crystalline silicon. Fenghuang PV is an enterprise that has developed and mass-produced quasi-monocrystalline silicon products earlier. What is the significance of technology? Compared with traditional polysilicon monocrystalline silicon, what are the cost reductions?

Sun Zhian: Quasi-monocrystalline silicon has long attracted widespread attention as a new technology direction. The company has announced that it has successfully developed. Quasi-single crystal is actually a technology for producing single-crystal products by using a polycrystalline ingot. In crystalline silicon cells, the conversion efficiency of monocrystalline silicon is the highest, which is almost 18%. The conversion rate of polycrystalline silicon is generally about 16.5%, and the gap between monocrystalline silicon is 1%-2%, but the production of polysilicon uses ingot casting. , Can produce 450 kilograms of polysilicon at a time, and single crystal uses plutonium, only 60 kilograms - 80 kilograms each time. Quasi-single crystals use ingots to produce products with conversion rates similar to those of single crystals (currently, the difference is 0.5%, and the conversion rate is generally around 17.5%), but the cost is the cost of polycrystalline silicon and the energy consumption is also greatly reduced. The value of this method is extremely high.

Monocrystalline silicon and polysilicon materials are basically similar, so the cost of monocrystalline silicon decreases, and polysilicon decreases. In June of this year, Phoenix Photovoltaic officially announced the mass production of quasi-monocrystalline silicon wafers and began mass production, providing customers with N-type silicon wafers, ultrathin and flexible silicon wafer preparation, quasi-single crystal ingot casting, and quasi-single crystal seeds. crystal. Next year, Phoenix Photovoltaic will cooperate with some large photovoltaic companies to launch a new generation of quasi-monocrystalline products. Through the power of the entire industry chain, power plant investors will gradually accept this product. Despite the need for a process, our technical progress guarantees us The cost is even lower. That is, using the price of polycrystalline silicon to sell the company's quasi-single crystal products, as quasi-monocrystalline conversion efficiency is higher than that of polysilicon, it is also superior to similar products. The industrialization of quasi-single crystal technology will effectively promote the effective reduction of cost per watt. It can be said that whoever wins the opportunity in this major technological advancement will be able to gain the market-leading competitiveness in the future.