Domestic amorphous silicon thin-film solar cell development or bottleneck

It was learned that China's solar giant China Suntech Power Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Suntech Power) disclosed that its second-quarter earnings report will be adjusted in the future, will stop the production of amorphous silicon film.

Suntech's responsible person in the power production department said that this is also related to the recent increase in the price of crystalline silicon. However, people in the industry said that the development of thin-film solar cells has encountered a certain bottleneck.

Crystal silicon caused by hot?

Suntech Electric said in the announcement that it is reorganizing its Shanghai plant and focusing on the production of crystalline silicon solar cells. As part of the restructuring business, Suntech Electric has stopped the production line of amorphous silicon thin films.

In fact, the suspension of production of amorphous silicon films has already been highlighted as early as June of this year. When Shide Power started its megawatt base in Shanghai, Shi Zhengrong, Chairman of Suntech Power, stated to the public: “Since almost a year or so ago, With prices returning to rational prices, the economics of thin-film batteries will be insufficient. The plans for large-scale production will be postponed and are still under development.

Suntech Power also expects to bring a non-cash loss of 50 million to 55 million U.S. dollars in the second quarter due to the closure of the film production line.

“The company will continue to invest in R&D in order to increase the conversion rate of thin films in the future,” said the person in charge of the Suntech Power Product Production Department in an interview. “Our current crystalline silicon products are In a state in short supply, some of the production capacity for the first half of next year has already been scheduled, so most of our energy will be invested in crystalline silicon."

According to public figures, from January to June this year, photovoltaic cells have been increased by 10% to 20% from the end of last year. On June 28th, Solarbuzz, the industry's authoritative analysis agency, released a report, and this year's global PV installed capacity is expected to reach a record 15.2%. GW, compared to 7.5 GW of global PV installed capacity in 2009, an increase of more than 100%.

In October of this year, the German government's subsidy for solar PV power plants will fall by 16% to 17%. Many Chinese PV cell manufacturers have taken the opportunity to export large quantities of wafers. The production of silicon wafers and polysilicon has also been rapidly driven, which has driven up the price of crystalline silicon. .

The prospect of thin-film batteries is worrying?

In fact, not only Suntech Power, but also multinational companies have such plans.

Recently, Sanyo has announced plans to suspend the company’s production of thin-film solar cells. The company’s external stated: “Since Sanyo Solar was jointly established by Sanyo Electric and Nippon Oil Corporation on January 23, 2009, the PV market has undergone dramatic changes. In the photovoltaic power plant, the main competitor of thin-film silicon batteries competes with thin-film batteries due to the reduction in the cost of raw materials and the price of finished products has plummeted, which has greatly weakened the competitive advantage of thin-film batteries."

Another domestic manufacturer of thin-film solar modules, Jiangsu Best Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd., also encountered some problems in its development. “The main issue is product awareness.” Company marketing manager Wu Wei frankly stated, “The company’s current main The market is abroad, and compared to traditional crystalline silicon, the film market is a start-up and is still in the training phase."

However, he also pointed out: "Based on the company's optimistic view of the future thin film battery market, the company will continue to expand production capacity and expand the film business."