【New Energy Applications】Polysilicon or monocrystalline silicon
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With significant cost reductions in recent years, monocrystalline silicon, which boasts a high photoelectric conversion efficiency but was once pushed to the periphery of the photovoltaic industry due to high costs, is returning to the center of attention in this sector. In China’s photovoltaic market where polysilicon wafers dominate, can monocrystalline silicon manage to turn the tables? The debate over the technical approaches involving monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon is intensifying, with as much fervor as the competition between crystalline silicon and thin-film technologies in those days. Who will prevail in the future, single crystals or polycrystals? Industry insiders told The Paper that the competition between monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon is not really a \"war,\" and there is no need to put the two in opposition to each other. Depending on the technological advancements of the time and the specific requirements of a project, different performance levels can be observed in different periods and regions. With the same amount of investment, the component that generates the most electricity is the one that the market is willing to adopt. In the next two to three years, polysilicon wafers will continue to dominate the market. Specifically for monocrystalline silicon, since monocrystalline modules require less land space and lower EPC costs during installation, they hold a greater advantage in eastern regions where land resources are more scarce, as well as in distributed photovoltaic power generation projects.
Classified by battery technology, photovoltaic power generation is mainly divided into crystalline silicon cells, thin-film cells, and concentrator cells. Single crystal and polycrystalline are the two variants in the technology pathway of crystalline silicon solar cells, and they are distinguished by their different lattice arrangements. When crystalline silicon photovoltaics, which are based on semiconductor technology, were first developed, only single-crystalline silicon with high conversion efficiencies was available. Due to the consistently high costs, the polycrystalline approach gradually became dominant 10 years ago. In recent years, with the development of distributed photovoltaics and the efforts of more participants across the entire single-crystalline silicon supply chain, the cost-performance gap between single-crystalline and polycrystalline products has been narrowing. Interestingly, in May 2015, GCL Group’s 10GW monocrystalline silicon project was established in Zhongwei, Ningxia, which indicates that the world’s largest polycrystalline silicon wafer manufacturer is also making significant investments in monocrystalline technology. Is photovoltaic manufacturing about to undergo a transformation? “In terms of the technical approach, one needs to be open-minded. Although polycrystalline cells are the mainstream in the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry, it is still necessary to pay attention to and stock up on monocrystalline cells. In the long run, although single-crystal products are currently subject to market pressures that result in low prices and thus no profit, we can reduce our production volume; it’s not necessary to stop production altogether. This is precisely the significance of the Ningxia single-crystal project. ”An executive from a certain company told The Paper that, in general, there is no such thing as good or bad technology; once it becomes commercialized and more people get involved in it, efforts will be made to address the weaknesses and enhance the strengths. Equipment suppliers and partners will also grow and improve, and all of this will enhance the advantages. Why are polycrystals low in cost and high in cost-performance? This was also brought forth by everyone together.
GCL is a leader in polysilicon, but it has also faced major problems; whether it’s polysilicon or monocrystalline silicon, poor quality of raw materials means that the larger the scale of operations, the faster the decline
They now have to decide whether to follow the path of American GT or that of German Wacker. If they choose the American GT route, they will never be able to produce qualified polysilicon; if they go with Wacker’s approach, they will have to rebuild their entire factories from scratch. Both are difficult choices
He is a bad leader; the quality of polysilicon produced by Zhongneng is far inferior to that of Company 739. They have disrupted the polysilicon market by prioritizing production volume over quality, just like Zhongneng does. Therefore, the new polysilicon standards were established specifically to address the issues posed by Zhongneng.
Now GCL also has to give up their original manufacturing process. They are investing 2 billion yuan this time to completely upgrade the existing equipment; this covers only the 3,000-ton portion of the facilities, and an additional zero is needed if a complete upgrade is to be carried out.