9 PV module leader announced "unification", why?
If you look at the photovoltaic industry, I believe you must have heard of 182mm, 210mm silicon wafers.
These two size standards are not very different in nature, the photovoltaic market is more of a "camp" struggle.
A variety of different sizes of components to adapt, so that the downstream enterprises are suffering, bear a huge cost of waste. In the photovoltaic industry boom down cycle, this cost waste has become the industry can not bear the weight.
On July 7, the first-tier component leaders in the PV industry reached a consensus that surprised the market - to unify the rectangular wafer version standards and realize the "unification" of components.
LONGi, JA, Jinko and other nine leading first-line component companies signed the "initiative on the standardization of rectangular wafer component size", the rectangular wafer in the version of the component standard reached a consensus:.
(1) Component size: 2382mm*1134mn;
(2) The longitudinal hole distance of the long side of the module: 400mm/790mm/1400mm.
At the same time, the nine companies decided to jointly set up a "PV module size standardization seminar group" to form a regular communication and coordination mechanism to promote the new generation of rectangular wafers and other version of the standardization of module size, in order to promote the healthy development of the photovoltaic industry.
Why is component harmonization a top priority?
The photovoltaic industry has always been a pain point is the size of the non-uniformity of the silicon wafer 156, 158, 166, 182, 210 and so on numerous specifications, a wide range of silicon wafer size as well as a variety of models at the module end of the product, no matter for the upstream supporting links or the downstream investor, is a kind of pain.
Because it will cause a lot of unnecessary material and processing cost loss, so the realization of the standard unification of components is crucial, but also the common cry of the enterprise.
Into the era of large-size silicon wafers, the size of the battle becomes 182 and 210 fight. Both have their own teams, supporting 210mm led by Trina Solar; and 182mm supporters, is LONGi Green Energy, JinkoSolar, JAO Technology, both have their own component products. No one can win over the other during the upturn in the industry, and the component standard has been maintaining a chaotic situation.
In the face of this mutually uncompromising predicament, in recent years, rectangular silicon wafers have gradually been the industry's attention.
Specifically, rectangular wafers in terms of cost reduction and efficiency is more than the traditional square, there are many benefits, such as cost, rectangular wafers than square wafers to utilize the silicon more fully; efficiency, compared to the traditional 182mm X 182mm square wafers, 182mm × (182 + X) mm size rectangular wafers can better enhance the overall efficiency of the component, because the rectangle is more flexible than square, can more fully utilize the components of the comprehensive efficiency. Because rectangular wafers are more flexible than square wafers, they can fully utilize the space of the module, and they are also more suitable for container space.
But rectangular wafers because of the length of the end of the X part, different companies have different choices, and ultimately make the rectangular component size is also a variety of. Square plus rectangular, so that the module market model variety.
What problems will arise from the many models? At the core is the difficulty of synergizing upstream and downstream of the industry chain, resulting in unnecessary overcapacity and material waste. For example, silicon wafer factories may increase manufacturing difficulties, waste raw materials, reduce production efficiency and other issues; auxiliary materials end, because the size is not a fixed standard, but also passively increase the manufacturing challenges, as well as inventory risk.
More and more sizes, making the desire for component model unification of the voice is getting louder and louder, and then do not speed up the great unification, the development of the industry are not good. This time, in the industry boom in the downturn, photovoltaic manufacturers feel the chill, so that the size of the "unification" agreement.
From the final program, this agreement is also full of compromises between the two camps. Because the pure square 182 and 210 component unification is very difficult, so the size of the rectangular component unification standards, belonging to the 182 and 210 compromise, this time to get the final consensus of the industry's nine component leaders.
Finally component size clutter the top priority, can be solved.
What are the benefits to business when standards are harmonized?
Components of the size of the fight, in fact, is also the performance of the industry volume, by working on different sizes, trying to make their products more attractive, so that it is easier to win in the competition, but the drawback is that it leads to the whole industry chain upstream and downstream of the internal friction.
From the upstream of the industry chain, the component size is not uniform, the need for upstream battery factory to support different models of silicon wafers, auxiliary materials in the film, glass, frame, backplane, etc. to support a variety of sizes, each size has to be prepared for the relevant inventory, materials, etc., to increase the cost burden and the risk of impairment.
Downstream, the component size is not uniform will give the downstream application side, especially the ground power station caused a great impact. Because of the different parameters of different size components, the project design to invest more energy and cost, in the installation of brackets, but also to support different programs, while changing the replacement cost of component purchasing manufacturers higher.
Therefore, after the head enterprise unified standards, also makes the terminal project design more convenient, conducive to enhance the terminal power plant yield, play a role in enhancing the demand. This upstream and downstream from the PV industry chain can be overall efficiency.
In short, the PV industry chain heavy burden, many parts of the serious surplus, one of the important reasons is that the product standards are not unified, seemingly differentiated competition, in fact, the whole industry chain caused by other parts of the huge waste, the production of many ineffective products.
And photovoltaic component manufacturers, the 9 major component manufacturers standardized products, is conducive to the whole industry chain to reduce costs and increase efficiency, but the deeper reason is the leading response to the downturn in the industry boom helpless compromise.