Major Chinese PV product manufacturer LONGi announced in late October that its commercial M6 HJT cells have attained a new world record in conversion efficiency at 25.82%. The achievement was confirmed by the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin, Germany (ISFH). LONGi is actually the previous record holder for the conversion efficiency of HJT cells as well, hitting the previously highest rate of 25.26% this June. The company therefore has broken the global record that it set just around four months ago, or within the span of half a year. While LONGi can claim leadership in the development of HJT cells, other PV product manufacturers are also seeking to reach the highest conversion efficiency for c-Si cells with various technologies that include HJT. The technological competition has been extremely fierce and thereby generating a lot of growth momentum within the global PV industry.
With this achievement, LONGi has gained a significant advantage because the company so far has relied on its own R&D to improve product performance and bring about innovations. The result of the testing at ISFH indicates that the company has the capability to mass produce next-generation high-efficiency cells. Moreover, the company has assumed the position of leading the industry-wide upgrading of the technologies related to c-Si cells. Besides demonstrating its prowess in R&D, LONGi now has more incentives to commit to its current capital expenditure strategy. To ensure that it is at the forefront in the development of various cell technologies, the company has been setting aside at least 5% of its annual revenue for R&D spending. Due to its willingness to pursue in-depth and comprehensive analyses of PV products, LONGi has been able to move faster than its competitors by launching cells and modules that can reduce the generation cost of a PV project below the level of LCOE for a given locality.
Although LONGi is claiming leadership in the PV industry with its HJT cells, other PV product manufacturers have been quick to catch up and break out from the competition for higher conversion efficiency. Also, rapid progress has been made in the development of N-type mono-Si cells with respect to design and process technology. Earlier, renewable energy news websites reported that LONGi raised the conversion efficiency of its N-type TOPCon cells to 25.21% in June. However, Jinko pushed up the conversion efficiency of its N-type TOPCon cells to 25.25% in the same month and thus claimed the new world record for this technology. On the other hand, LONGi’s P-type TOPCon cells still have the highest conversion efficiency of 25.19%, which was attained in June as well.
Nevertheless, LONGi remains ahead of most suppliers for c-Si PV products on account its drive for innovations and constant improvements. Besides working to commercialize newly emerged cell technologies, LONGi has also been upgrading products that are based on the mature technologies. For instance, LONGi raised the conversion efficiency of its monoi-Si bifacial PERC cells to a new high of 24.06% in January 2019, and this record has stayed unbroken since then.
Even though LONGi is showing its core strength by continuously setting new records for different cell technologies, it remains to be seen whether this kind of activities will bring tangible benefits. Lately, the more pressing matters that are facing the PV industry are not related to product performances. Instead, they are related to rising material costs, supply chain issues, and frictions in international trade. Bloomberg reported in late September that LONGi and other major Chinese PV product manufacturers were asking their customers to push back procurements and installations because of the undersupply situation for some key components. Around the same time, LONGi also raised prices of its wafers in connection with hikes in polysilicon prices.
Still, according to the coverage of LONGi’s latest achievement by local Chinese media outlets, there seems to be a consensus that making technological advances will accrue advantages in product development and lead to larger market share gains. Additionally, raising product quality and efficiency is not just about increasing the values of the available offerings. LONGi as one of the leaders of the Chinese PV industry is under pressure to support domestic policies pertaining to green energy targets and greenhouse gas reduction. Local Chinese media stated that LONGi’ latest achievement shows that innovation is an essential part of the company’s strategy, and the company will continue to lend support to the Chinese government in the effort to cap CO2 emissions and attain carbon neutrality.