(Note: This article was contributed by Li Hejun, chairman of thin-film
solar power equipment supplier Hanergy Holding of Beijing. Li ranks No. 4
on the 2013 Forbes China List Rich published Wednesday. Hanergy in the
past 16 months has acquired MiaSole and Global Solar Energy Sources of
the U.S. and Solibro of Germany. Click here for a profile of Li in the current issue of Forbes Asia.)
The world’s solar energy industry has been steadily
advancing since Bell Labs invented the world’s first modern solar cell
in 1954. Witness the gains of the past several years: the total
capacity of the photovoltaic (PV) industry was 96.7 gigawatts (GW) of
power in 2012, some 32 times its capacity of 2.9 GW in 2004.
This expansion is the result of a shortage of fossil
fuels, along with their impact on the environment. New technology has
enhanced the efficiency of solar cells and lowered module prices, making
it feasible for solar – or photovoltaic (PV) — power generation to
expand greatly. Against this backdrop, China, with its strong
manufacturing capability, has become the world factory for the PV
industry.
Given recent anti-dumping policies by EU and the U.S.,
it is imperative for China’s PV industry to make strategic changes for
sustainability. Prices of polycrystalline silicon and PV modules have
plummeted, and many Chinese polycrystalline silicon companies have
either closed or filed for bankruptcy.
What is ahead for the global PV business? In light of
the global integration of the industry, continual upgrades of technology
and equipment, and a growing market for energy, I believe a new age of
thin-film solar cells is at hand.
Thin film and crystalline silicon are the two major
categories of solar cells. Crystalline silicon represents the first
generation of solar cells, while thin film covers the second and third
generations. The difference between these two is as big as the
difference between cube-box TV and LCD TV. Although crystalline silicon
today still accounts for the vast majority of solar cells produced
globally, flexibility and thinness are the current trends for solar
cells and therefore the future of the PV industry.
Thin film has five advantages over crystalline silicon.
First, its raw materials cost less. Second, its “energy payback time”
is shorter for buyers. Third, thin film is much more efficient under
different levels of lamination than crystalline silicon. Fourth, because
it can be flexible, it can be customized for ground, façades, rooftops
or any other surfaces. Fifth, it can be applied on a variety of devices.
Thin film technology can be used on devices such as
solar emergency lamps, street lights, camping kits or mobile chargers,
and can also be applied to automobiles. My company, Hanergy Holding
Group, is collaborating with a well-known automaker in China on
solar-powered cars. The success of this endeavor would have a profound
revolution to the automobile industry. In the building industry,
meanwhile, our research indicates that the BIPV (building integrated
photovoltaics) and BAPV (business attached photovoltaics) market in
China is potentially five times as big as that for automobiles. The PV
industry can become a pillar industry and stimulate the development of
multiple industries.
Hanergy hopes to be in the lead. Within just a few
years, Hanergy has ventured from the traditional hydropower business to
the capital- and technology-intensive new energy industry and become one
of the world’s largest thin-film solar companies. With production that
includes amorphous silicon germanium, amorphous silicon-micro silicon
and CIGS (copper indium germanium selenium) technologies, Hanergy’s
module efficiency is as high as 15.5% for mass production, and 18.7% for
lab performance. Our annual production capacity is 3 GW.
Hanergy some years ago started to conduct research on
major PV companies worldwide, focusing on those with leading
technologies. We shortlisted some European and U.S. top thin-film
companies for due diligence and selected technologies that we believe
have the largest potential and the best prospects. When the global PV
industry was facing skepticism in 2011, Hanergy went against the tide
and began the purchase of three businesses in 13 months:
– On June 5, 2012, Hanergy acquired Solibro of Germany.
Using co-evaporation technology, the company is the pioneer and
trailblazer for the commercialization of CIGS technology.
– On Jan. 9 of this year, Hanergy acquired MiaSole of
California, which uses a proprietary continuous sputtering process
without vacuum breakage.
– Finally, in July of this year, Hanergy completed the
acquisition of another U.S. company, Global Solar Energy (GSE), whose
stainless steel substrate is only 30 micrometers thick and whose
commercialization of flexible CIGS thin-film technology is the most
seasoned.
Hanergy has since sent engineering teams to the
acquired companies to co-develop techniques, equipment technology and
product technology. By so doing, Hanergy wishes on one hand to quickly
absorb new CIGS technology to facilitate its use in China’s domestic
market. At the same time, we wish to reinforce our technical manpower
and promote further technology upgrading at the acquired businesses. We
have increased module efficiency for mass production by 1.5 and 2.0
percentage points at two of the companies since the acquisitions. With
regards to equipment domestication and material supply, Hanergy has also
integrated resources and optimized the cost structure of CIGS products
to make it more competitive in the marketplace.
With the aim of integrating these global leading PV
technologies, Hanergy has adopted an “introduce-absorb-innovate” model
and integrated the unique technologies of the three acquired companies,
hence consolidating Hanergy’s global leadership role in CIGS technology.
Solibro’s co-evaporation technology complements GSE’s early-stage cell
production, while GSE’s rich experience in the application of ultra-thin
stainless steel substrate and flexible module can enhance MiaSole’s
competitiveness of high-efficiency flexible products and expedite its
industrialization. MiaSole, strong in equipment and technical processes,
can help with the optimization of production and technology use at the
other two companies.
Hanergy’s competitiveness in CIGS is reflected in our
equipment design and development, our production line integration, and
our possession of dozens of core patented technologies including uniform
film deposition on large substrates, continuous film deposition without
vacuum breakage, and integrated thin-film solar cell interconnection.
Our mass production of CIGS thin-film production lines is No. 1
globally, and our conversion efficiency approaches or exceeds that of
contemporary crystalline silicon cells.
Professor Jeremy Rifkin in “The Third Industrial
Revolution” writes that when information technology combines with energy
systems, a major economic revolution will begin. He thinks we are
facing a third industrial revolution: the emergence, application and
continuous integration of renewable energy technology and information
technology like the Internet will bring about another dramatic change to
people’s way of production and way of life. I completely agree with his
view, and strive to put it into reality.
Hanergy’s mission is: “Change the World by Clean Power.”
We believe the core of the Third Industrial Revolution is the new
energy revolution, the heart of the new energy revolution lies in a PV
revolution, and the center of the PV revolution will hinge on the wide
application of thin-film technology. An era is coming when solar power
will replace fossil-fuel power on a global scale, leading to great
changes in global energy landscape.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/russellflannery/2013/10/18/solar-energys-next-business-breakthroughs/?ss=business%3Aenergy
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