Just how solar PV industry chain length

China Suppliers


For the global PV industry, if the new energy policy that the world is the rapid rise of this new engine sunrise industry, high technology can be said that from the laboratory to the market midwife. Obviously, the technology development, industrial development and policy direction have a clear premise, for those trying to enter the photovoltaic industry to capture opportunities in many domestic enterprises, a clear awareness and understanding of the entire PV industry ecosystem, the scale of investment and technical requirements becomes particularly important.


Upstream: who is the King owns silicon


In the global PV industry chain, high-purity silicon materials (purity of 99.9999% or more) is Suntech production such as photovoltaic solar cells needed for the core material. Therefore, the high-purity silicon material in the mining, refining and production of photovoltaic industry clusters has become the most upstream industry. At present, although the silicon raw material mineral reserves in China account for 25% of the world's total reserves (silicon itself is the world's richest mineral reserves one), because the production of silicon materials for solar cells is mainly monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon, They are extracted by different methods to extract raw materials made from silicon, silicon raw materials while China's current refining technology lags far behind the original Western developed countries (the highest national level of only 99.5% extraction), resulting in domestic Suntech days Wei Ying Lee and other raw materials required for solar cell manufacturers need to import most. Thus, not only greatly increase the production costs, but also restricted the PV industry in our country to the upstream development of insurmountable "bottleneck."
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As the solar cell production to meet the needs of high-purity silicon production core technology lies in the hands of a few companies in Western developed countries, coupled with high-purity silicon material can also be used for military industry, thus introducing the core technology is very difficult. Also, from an investment perspective, a 1000 tons polysilicon production lines, just as a medium of modern petrochemical companies, engineering design not only complex, high power consumption (annual output 1000 tons polysilicon production lines installed capacity of power supply needs of 98 000 kw, the total power consumption is 250 million kwh), and total investment in China is as high as 10 billion, while 1000 tons / year is now globally recognized high-purity silicon material production of the smallest economies of scale. More importantly, access to the industry's most important threshold is not capital, but technology.
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It is understood that although China's polysilicon industry start earlier (50 years of the 20th century), but small production scale, backward technology, environmental pollution, consumption, high cost, most companies have discontinued due to loss or Transferring to 2004, only Emei Semiconductor Material Factory and Luoyang Monocrystalline Silicon Co., Ltd. The two producers, production capacity is only 100 tons / year to meet the needs of the silicon solar cell production output of only 80 tons of material reality. Experts predict that by 2010 China's production of silicon for solar cell demand expected to reach 4,365 tons in 2015 to 16,200 tons. Without the intellectual property rights change the status of the domestic production of polysilicon, silicon materials industry in China is subject to international market conditions will not change, this will endanger the further development of PV industry in China.


In fact, in all countries work together to promote a new energy policy, the PV industry in the past 5 years, rapid development has led to meet the solar grade silicon material is in short supply situation, the market price is singing along: 2003 kg is 24 dollars 2004, rose to 32 U.S. dollars, by the end of 2005 rose to 80 U.S. dollars is jump up about. Therefore, the PV industry chain, the upstream raw materials on the importance of solar companies like "food". Market analysts have even predicted: "For the solar cell company, now even the future for a long time, the key is not a production capacity and sales, but whether there is sufficient supply of raw materials."


In fact, Suntech IPO in the NYSE listing roadshow last year's process, foreign investors are most frequently asked question is the raw material in 2006 is not implemented? In its prospectus is a clear indication, they raised nearly 400 million U.S. dollars in cash, there will be 100 million U.S. dollars for the purchase of raw materials or a down payment in order to further control the raw material. Everbright Securities analyst Han Ling Energy IPO in the next day after Suntech also said: "The only deal well with the upstream silicon raw material supplier relationships, Suntech continued strength no problem." Relevant foreign securities research report also noted that in the next two , the silicon material shortage will be the solar industry, the most important risks.


Therefore, in the PV industry chain, the upstream high-purity silicon production enterprise owned by Silicon king is real. In view of this, last November, held in Beijing the polysilicon (one high-purity silicon material) the "Eleventh Five-Year" Conference on Science and Technology Development, Chinese Academy of simple aquatic said in his speech: "Our country should establish a polysilicon base, the base of the output can go to thousands or even hundreds of billion billion. If we can build several such bases in our country's comprehensive national strength will be greatly increased. "