Seize the initiative in development and create photovoltaic miracles through innovation

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As the leader in China’s photovoltaic industry, Yingli Group has had an impressive performance over the past 8 years: its annual production capacity of photovoltaic modules has increased from 3 megawatts to 800 megawatts, while its sales revenue and profits have risen from 40 million yuan and 9 million yuan respectively to 8 billion yuan and 1 billion yuan. The prospects for Yingli Group are encouraging: this year, the company’s production capacity will reach 1,400 megawatts, enabling it to reduce the cost of photovoltaic power generation to 1 yuan per kilowatt-hour, and it will also be able to determine prices in the global photovoltaic module market! “China’s photovoltaic industry started several decades later than that in other countries, and to catch up with its international counterparts in a short period of time, comprehensive innovation is essential. ”Miao Liansheng, the chairman of the group, said in a recent interview with journalists that \"over the years we have been focusing on innovation in concepts, technology, and management; as a result, product quality has improved continuously while costs have decreased, enabling us to catch up in the fierce international market competition.\" ” Innovate in concepts to take the initiative in development – one must eat both meat and tough bones. By taking the risk of establishing a polysilicon production line, the company became a photovoltaic enterprise with the most complete industrial chain in the world. On December 15 last year, a news release by Yingli Group caused a stir among its peers both at home and abroad: the 69 Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the group, achieved successful trial production, with the polysilicon produced having a purity of “nine nines” – 99.9999999%. More than 40 overseas media outlets exclaimed at this news: The landscape of the global photovoltaic industry is set to change as a result! Zhao Zhiheng, vice president of Yingli Group, explained the reason to reporters: The photovoltaic industry comprises six key stages – polysilicon materials, ingot casting, slicing, solar cells, battery modules, and photovoltaic system applications. The more complete the industrial chain, the better quality and costs can be controlled, and the greater the advantages become. However, the higher up the industrial chain one moves, the higher the technical requirements, the greater the investment, and the longer the construction period. Many peers, in order to invest less and make money quickly, often choose only stages such as solar cells and battery modules. “We can’t seek quick success; we need to eat the meat as well as chew through the bones! ”When entering the photovoltaic industry in 1998, Miao Liansheng invested several times more money to set up the five other production lines aside from those for polysilicon materials (whose technology was then monopolized by foreign companies), and by leveraging his advantages he quickly reduced the non-silicon costs to the lowest level in the world. Nevertheless, Miao Liansheng also felt the pain of the saying that \"even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice.\" Especially in the summer of 2007, due to the sharp rise in the price of polysilicon, an American company that supplied materials to Yingli Group unilaterally terminated its contract, forcing the company to search around the world for raw materials and making it difficult to continue production at that time. He made up his mind: \"I will pay any price to have my own polysilicon production line!\" ” Miao Liansheng pledged all of his shares and, taking on enormous risks and investing a large amount of money, developed the world’s most advanced new process for polysilicon production – the new silane process. He formed a R&D team named “Chouliangchu” and established Liujiu Silicon Industry in April 2008. “It is called ‘69’ because a purity level of six nines (99.9999%) for polysilicon is sufficient to meet the requirements for manufacturing photovoltaic cells. ”Zhang Yuehe, general manager of 69 Silicon Industry, said, “We carry out further innovation based on what we import, achieving a closed-loop, fully circular production process. There is no discharge of wastewater or waste residues, and the costs are more than 30% lower than those of domestic competitors. Moreover, the purity of the polysilicon material produced reaches the electronic-grade standard of ‘nine nines’, which improves the quality of photovoltaic cells.” ” “The production capacity of Phase 1 of 69 Silicon Industry is 3,000 tons; our goal is to reach a capacity of 18,000 tons in order to achieve complete self-sufficiency in silicon materials. ”Miao Liansheng said, “As a result, we have become the photovoltaic enterprise with the most complete industrial chain in the world, freeing ourselves from being at the mercy of others and taking control of our own development.” ” Technological innovation to enhance core competitiveness: They prefer to turn down orders in order to develop new technologies. With one innovative achievement every 3 days on average, product quality continues to improve while costs keep falling. On January 15th of this year, the **Key Laboratory for Solar Photovoltaic Power Generation Technology**, backed by Yingli Group, was officially established. This marks the establishment of a comprehensive public service platform in China’s solar photovoltaic industry that integrates photovoltaic technology research and development as well as fundamental research, and it will contribute to the formulation of national standards for photovoltaics. Song Dengyuan, the group’s chief technology officer, said, “What enabled us to stand out among the 17 companies and research institutions across the country that applied was our long-term accumulated technological strength.” ” “Of course, our initial intention in pursuing technological innovation is not to obtain top-tier laboratories, but to improve product quality, reduce production costs, and gain a competitive edge. ”Miao Liansheng said that the biggest obstacle to photovoltaic power generation is high costs, and the best way to reduce these costs is through technological innovation. “Technological innovation not only requires significant investment but also inevitably involves failures. ”Zheng Xiaoqiang, who rose rapidly from an ordinary employee to vice president of the group, told reporters, “Chairman Miao is particularly tolerant on this matter; there are rewards for success, and no blame for failure.” A project I led failed, and over 1 million yuan was wasted; when he found out, he just laughed it off. ” At Yingli Group, everyone is eager to innovate and dares to innovate; on average, one innovation is achieved every 3 days. The products manufactured using the same equipment and raw materials are of high quality in large quantities, and the cost associated with non-silicon components has dropped to 0.8 dollars per watt, which is the lowest level in the global industry. What touched Zheng Xiaoqiang the most was Miao Liansheng’s willingness to sacrifice short-term interests for technological innovation: At the beginning of last year, Yingli Group, in collaboration with a Dutch energy research center and another photovoltaic equipment supplier, launched a high-efficiency battery development project named the “Panda Project”. With demand for the product exceeding supply, Miao Liansheng resolutely rejected some of the customers’ orders and shut down one production line, which was then modified for use in experiments on high-efficiency batteries. “As a result, the experiment was successful at the end of June last year, achieving a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 18.5%, which is leading in the world. Today, this new technology has been applied to the 300-megawatt single-crystal project under construction, and once it is operational, it will be another powerful asset! ” Cultural innovation drives the development of learning-oriented enterprises. By focusing on practical actions and maintaining consistency, and with a corporate culture centered on principles such as those of a family, a school, or a military unit, it is possible to build a workforce that is highly loyal, innovative, and capable of effective execution. February 20th is the seventh day after the New Year’s holiday, marking the first day of work after the Spring Festival. At 7:40, the employees in their work uniforms lined up in an orderly queue and ran around the factory premises; after that, they formed a square formation and recited English words with the English teacher from the training department… It is said that this kind of “morning class” has been held consistently for many years, without fail. “Based on the unique characteristics of each enterprise, we have proposed a corporate culture centered on ‘like a family, like a school, like an army’. ”Miao Liansheng can create them effortlessly. “\"Like a family\" means to care for employees just as parents care for their children, turning the company into a big family where achievements are shared. “Like a school,” it means treating employees as students and nurturing them carefully, providing every employee with opportunities to learn and space for growth. “\"Like troops,\" it means that employees are expected to act like soldiers, obeying orders strictly and working with urgency and efficiency… \"Corporate culture here is not just an empty slogan; it is pursued in a practical and consistent manner, just as much as technological innovation is.\" ”Vice President Zhao Zhiheng told reporters that such a corporate culture has fostered a workforce that is highly loyal, innovative, and strong in execution. Not long ago, Yingli Group became the official sponsor of the 2010 South Africa World Cup, becoming the world’s first renewable energy company to receive this honor. It is reported that with the launch of the domestic photovoltaic power generation market, Yingli Group has begun to shift its focus from overseas to the domestic market, using more photovoltaic modules in solar power projects within China ； The significant increase in production capacity and continuous technological innovation will enable Yingli Group to reduce the cost of photovoltaic power generation to 1 yuan per kilowatt-hour this year. “In this way, solar power generation is no longer an unattainable ‘luxury’; rather, it has become a low-carbon, green energy source that the general public can afford to use. ”Miao Liansheng said.