Interviewee: Hua Chuan, Sales Manager of Dongguan Zerun Electronics Technology Co., LTD.

Intelligent PV junction boxes are recent technical solutions designed to optimise and enhance the efficiency of PV power generation, and can increase the system’s generating efficiency by up to 47.5%. They are extremely useful in terms of installation and maintenance and can improve the PV system’s fire response mechanism, such as its shutoff function. We interviewed a representative of Zerun Electronics, a company that has dedicated many years to the development and promotion of intelligent PV junction boxes.

PVP365: People may not know very much about Zerun Electronics. Could you please give us a brief introduction to your company?

Hua Chuan: Our company was founded in 2003 and was officially renamed Zerun Electronics in 2009. We established a branch in Changzhou in early 2017 and have been in business for 15 years. The company has grown from an initial small workshop-type factory to a sizable manufacturer of PV intelligent optimisers, junction boxes and connectors, with two manufacturing bases in Dongguan and Changzhou. It plays an important role in the PV junction box market, with its annual output exceeding 10 million sets. The company was rated as a national high-tech enterprise in 2015, which will be a central focus of our future marketing plans. Most of our customers are well-known domestic and foreign PV companies, such as TE Connectivity, Jinko Solar, Tesla, LG, Suntech, Zhonghuan and Almaden.

PVP365: The four key points for the future development of China’s manufacturing industry are innovation, quality, design and Internet+. Zerun Electronics achieved a certain level of success in independent R&D, innovation and quality certification in 2017. Could you explain that in detail?

Hua Chuan: If the company wants to develop over the long term and not be eliminated from the market it must have long-term plans, and innovation and high quality should continue to be the focus. Zerun has always regarded quality as the foundation for its survival and innovation as the soul of its development.

As we know, PV products are required to give at least 25 years of service life. while PV junction boxes, as key components of PV modules, play a crucial role in the long-term, safe and efficient power generation of the modules. All PV products developed by Zerun have been certified by TÜV Rheinland, and we also conduct strict controls within the company. For example, the aging tests for most of our products require at least twice the duration of the IEC standard, and many even require three times the duration or more.

We also closely follow the market demand. According to the requirements of emerging technologies, such as double-glazed and double-faced modules, we developed Z8, Z8t, Z11 and other corresponding new-generation junction boxes, thus meeting the constantly updated requirements of different customers. We optimised the design of our traditional Z7 junction box to reduce the cost to our customers, so that these products would continue to be popular.

Furthering the development of intelligent PV products is the most significant activity of our company. In cooperation with Maxim, we developed the world’s first intelligent junction box based on a battery sub-cascade connection. A mature second-generation version of this product has now been developed. Dozens of domestic and foreign PV giants and module manufacturers, such as Jinko Solar, Hanwha, Canadian Solar, Tesla, Suntech, CSUN and ET Solar, are satisfied with this series of products, and they have all launched or are launching corresponding intelligent modules. I believe that it will not be long before the products used in the intelligent modules of Maxim and Zerun will dominate the market.

PVP365: What is the development plan for Zerun in 2018? Which business segment will you focus on?

Hua Chuan: Zerun’s major development plan in 2018 is concentrated on the following aspects.

First, we will further increase investment in the intelligent optimiser market, so that more end-users can understand their many advantages. For example, a little more investment in the early stage can bring 25 years of long-term benefits, and can eliminate hot spots, improve safety and efficiency and enhance generating capacity. At present, intelligent modules adopting our intelligent optimisers have been very popular in Australia. We hope that more domestic users can soon use them.

Second, we will expand our cooperation with TESLA. Our cascade-connected junction box is part of TESLA’s PV roof project. A single product contains 50 regular junction boxes, which are designed and produced by Zerun exclusively for TESLA. We have a number of other joint projects with TESLA, such as the single junction box for PV tiles and the next-generation intelligent junction box. Further close cooperation can be expected.

Third, we will enlarge the production capacity of our factories in Dongguan and Changzhou and increase our shipments to module customers in the Yangtze River Delta. Zerun has focused on serving overseas customers for many years. Now, after setting up the factory in Changzhou last year, we can better serve local module customers. Over the years, our high quality standards and cost performance have led to recognition from many customers, such as Suntech, Zhonghuan, CSUN, ET Solar, Almaden and Huanmei, and our business volume is continually increasing.

PVP365: Intelligent junction boxes can be said to be the core of intelligent PV modules. How about Zerun’s market share?

Hua Chuan: We began cooperating with Maxim four years ago to develop intelligent junction boxes. While we have taken some wrong paths during this period, we firmly believe that our intelligent junction box technology is world-leading.

We must admit that our market share still needs to be constantly improved. Today’s optimiser suppliers are mainly Enphase, Solar Edge and Tigo, which have been in the PV market for many years. They are also developing rapidly because of the growth of distributed PV, but I believe that with users’ positive opinions and market testing, we will build a better future. To this end, we now devote greater efforts to marketing. We hope that with the help of this “All Quality Matters” Congress, more users will learn about the numerous advantages of the Maxim-Zerun optimiser, as another option, and our optimiser can gain further popularity in the market.

PVP365: We learned that TÜV Rheinland’s first certificate for intelligent junction boxes in mainland China was issued to Zerun. How did Zerun accomplish that? What are the core competitive features, technical characteristics and advantages?

Hua Chuan: First, the latest technology is used for Maxim-Zerun’s intelligent junction box, and the core competitive features, technical characteristics and advantages are reflected in the following aspects.

The hidden danger of hot spots is completely eliminated so that the aging and fall-off of modules can be greatly reduced.

MPPT optimisation for battery sub-cascade connection can significantly enhance the generating capacity of the overall module.

Using our modules, end-users can freely design and install our modules on their roofs without being limited by the orientation and light intensity, thus making full use of the roof area and improving the generating capacity.

Our second-generation product incorporates a voltage-limiting function that can regulate the output voltage and current of the modules, allowing more to be installed under the same string of inverters, thus reducing system costs.

The most valuable thing is that we have combined these excellent functions in a small chip. Without such an optimiser, only by using dozens of electronic components can the reliability be greatly increased and the costs reduced.

PVP365: Please make a few comments about the “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress hosted by TÜV Rheinland? How do you evaluate the role of third-party testing and certification authorities like TÜV Rheinland in your business? Could you talk about the cooperation with TÜV Rheinland?

Hua Chuan: The “All Quality Matters” Solar Congress hosted by TÜV Rheinland is a major event in the PV industry and has far-reaching effects. Many industry influencers will attend the event and pay close attention to it. It provides a platform for industry leaders to interact and communicate, allowing them to share and discuss new technologies and trends related to PV.

TÜV Rheinland’s certification has been widely acclaimed in the PV industry. From its establishment, its influence has been expanding day by day. Now it has become a leading benchmark in the industry. We have cooperated with TÜV Rheinland for many years. Because of TÜV Rheinland’s certification of our products, our customers use our products with confidence and we can further expand our market. We hope to continue our cooperation with TÜV Rheinland on the testing and certification of traditional and intelligent junction boxes in the future. We also aim to promote and popularise Maxim-Zerun’s intelligent optimisers through the “All Quality Matters” platform and other related activities, so that tens of thousands of end users can use intelligent modules as soon as possible.

Postscript:

PV intelligent junction boxes should truly fit in with the pain points and difficulties in the PV industry, thus achieving the optimal balance between the electrical function of junction boxes, the service life of electronic devices, the costs and investment of the boxes, etc. It can take some time before a new product is recognised by users in the PV market, but we are confident that the intelligent modules of Maxim-Zerun will shine through. We believe that in the next few years, Zerun’s intelligent PV junction boxes will be applied more widely to PV systems, creating more value for investors.