The two-day 2017 Solar Congress and “All Quality Matters” Award Ceremony organised by TüV Rheinland drew to a close on 14 March. About 20 keynote speakers delivered their inspiring visions to more than 200 leaders of national institutions and renowned enterprises. Through the “Quality Insights” series, TüV Rheinland is able to integrate and pass on the participants’ insights and valuable experience to their other partners, prompting further useful discussions.
Roundtable Discussion: Innovation and Persistence –
New Paths to Photovoltaic Breakthroughs
Speaker:
Wei Zhou
Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co Ltd
Shuangquan He
Wuxi Suntech Power Co Ltd
Zhongwei Zhang
HT-SAAE
Qing Liu
Lucky Film Co Ltd
Yanhu Zhang
Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd
Hao Jin
JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd
Weichun Li
TüV Rheinland Greater China
Weichun Li:
It has been said that the PV industry, like IT and microelectronics before it, is enjoying a period of rapid development. It has been a tremendous source of interest and has shown great potential since its inception. The industry now has an extremely high profile due to government support, intense media attention and substantial capital investment. However, PV prices have dropped from several US dollars to a few yuan per watt, so is the PV industry still on the rise, with further potential for development, or is it beginning to recede? We are very pleased to have leading authorities from the industry with us today. What do you think of the current development of the PV industry?
Wei Zhou:
We must “lose weight” before we can “build up our muscles”. Sustained innovation in terms of technology, management and business models will lead the industry to maturity.
It is definitely not in recession yet. We have been “losing weight” over the past few years, and I believe it is now time to “build up our muscles”. To achieve sustained development, the industry still requires innovation in technology, management and the business model in general.
Shuangquan He:
The future is bright, but hurdles remain –
The PV industry accelerates towards maturity
There is no doubt that PV is a booming industry approaching its maturity. All those involved are concerned about reducing costs, increasing profits and technological innovation, which are sure signs that the industry still has much potential. If you look at the manufacturing industry, online platforms and offline stores are currently struggling to keep their prices competitive, but the manufacturers of refrigerators, washing machines or colour TVs are rarely struggling for survival. The PV industry will inevitably reach a similar position one day. The pressures and concerns we currently face are inevitable in the development of all PV businesses. The future is definitely bright, but hurdles remain.
Zhongwei Zhang:
PV industry calls for new breakthroughs as it approaches maturity
I think a sign of industry maturity is when PV businesses do not rely on government subsidies: maturity can only be achieved when companies can support themselves. I believe this will still take time, and further breakthroughs are required.
Hao Jin:
Development – maturity – recession, the PV industry is still in the first phase
Businesses must pass through three phases. First is the development period, in which there should be no bottleneck as the demand for PV energy should be similar to that for fossil energy. In the second phase, grid parity should be achieved or even surpassed, which should lead to another period of vigorous growth. If another revolutionary technology emerges that is superior to PV, the industry will arrive at the third phase, which is recession. We can currently see the PV industry going through the first two stages, but not as yet the third. The players in the industry are still growing, and they may yet face their own particular challenges.
Yanhu Zhang:
There are already market leaders in the inverter business;
but the PV industry is still in infancy
In my personal experience there are two possible directions in the inverter business, UPS and PV inverters. Which should we choose? Some experts believe that UPS is already a mature industry, but PV inverters are totally new. The inverter industry has already become monopolised, and is dominated by three manufacturers, who before 2016 accounted for more than 80% of the market. However, as far as I’m concerned, grid parity should be a sign of maturity in the PV industry. For now, it is still in infancy. My view is that industry is in different development stages, depending on where you view it from.
Qing Liu:
The PV industry is approaching its peak,
but technological innovations are required to ensure its broader prospects
The broad applications of PV mean that the industry still has a relatively large market space to explore. It can be likened to a teenager growing into an adult. From a technical point of view, I think the existing technologies are approaching maturity and have achieved a considerable degree of uniformity, but now we need new breakthroughs to push us to the next stage.
Weichun Li:
In this context, what is the next direction of PV industry development? What have mainstream businesses in the industry supply chain achieved in terms of technical innovation and quality control?
Wei Zhou:
Establish systems and processes, improve quality control and achieve PV development goals
Quality is our priority, and developing a stable PV industry requires efforts from all those involved. Solar energy must be safe, reliable, available to customers and affordable. High quality is the key to all these factors. We have in fact made considerable progress in this direction, but it is not easy, particularly when all those in the industry are drastically cutting their costs. Survival is essential, but we must still preserve the bottom line in terms of quality control. I understand this is a big challenge industry wide, but practical efforts must be made, from material selection in the research and development stage to mass production consistency and effective customer feedback. We will implement rigorous and sustained methods of quality control, enabling us to be more confident in what we produce and capable of delivering higher quality products.
Qing Liu:
Rely on technology and prioritise quality
Reflecting on yesterday’s award ceremony, my view is that we must “rely on technology and prioritise quality”. These are part of both Lucky Film’s management policies and our core values. After nearly 60 years of development and experience we can say that we have formed a relatively complete system in terms of quality, and a quality control system that has been proven over the long term. This combines self-inspection, mutual inspection and special inspections. We also leveraged many scientific quality management tools in the process, and our system can still be improved as the industry and business develop. Innovation has been the secret to our success as purely a photosensitive material provider, although the transformation has at times been arduous. Lucky Film has a core set of shelf technology systems, known as our “core shelf technology”. These technologies automatically apply the modules to our product design. Our long-term technology experience has provided us with a good foundation for product development in new areas.
Yanhu Zhang:
Retain the bottom line in terms of business and quality control, innovate to address customer pain points
We share the same vision of prioritising quality. Our company specialises in providing various inverter products. One of our core values is to “satisfy our customers”. We also believe innovation is key. It is the route to the sustainable development of an enterprise, the solution to customers’ pain points and the only way to provide customers with value in the products they need.
Shuangquan He:
Focus on quality and technology to promote orderly competition and business transformation
First, the purpose of our innovation is actually to enhance “professionalism”, which is a point we raised last year. We should therefore value diligent work, study and teamwork. That is why we (Wuxi Suntech Power Co Ltd) changed our core values to “pragmatic, efficient, collaborative and innovative”. We also recognise the effects of good quality and innovation, and strive to bring our quality products to more users. Last September we created the distributed PV brand Suntech Yijia, which is able to deliver our products to tens of thousands of households nationwide through our national distribution network. This has had a significant effect. These innovative efforts demonstrate our confidence in the long-term sustainable development of the PV industry. I would like to take this opportunity to call for competition in the industry to be orderly. It is indeed important to cut costs, but this cannot happen overnight, or without a process of improving quality and upgrading technology. The platform of “All Quality Matters” can help us in this long process of transformation and improvement. Continuous efforts must be made to ensure we achieve the bright future we desire.
Hao Jin:
Quality is the bottom line and innovation is the cornerstone of the PV industry,
coordinate the two to move forward
First of all, I think the concept of “persistence” is about taking quality as the bottom line. I believe that every company, including Jinko Solar and TÜV Rheinland, has its own quality standards. We ensure that our customers receive the most suitable products. PV systems are industrial products, and to ensure their durability and long-lasting function is a necessary requirement for production. Second, there has been much technological innovation in recent years. Many new products have been launched, particularly in 2017. There is still a way to go before grid parity is reached, but we expect this to be achieved through technical innovations and the introduction of better products, not through profit reduction. Such innovations can be made in many directions and areas, including monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules. We have also noted the relationship between technology and quality. At times, balancing quality control and business development is difficult, but this is a key prerequisite for entering the second stage (grid parity) of PV development.
Zhongwei Zhang:
Innovate technology to increase power per unit area and capacity,
gradually bring down price through technological development
I have worked in the solar industry for over 30 years. As one of the first PV companies, HT-SAAE has never compromised in terms of quality control. To ensure long-term stability, I think technological innovation is about providing cost-effective products. Specifically, given the high land price, we should strive to improve the power per unit area, and increase power generation per unit area. Comprehensive integration through technical means is also important to minimise costs. This is the ultimate goal of our technological development.
Weichun Li: Please summarise your outlook for the PV industry and expectations for TÜV Rheinland.
Wei Zhou: We hope that the PV industry can develop further towards a bright, healthy and sustainable future. Our expectations for TÜV Rheinland are that it continues to be scientific, objective and always seriously concerned with technology, to encourage interactions upstream and downstream in the industry, and to control pain points in all parts of the industry chain.
Qing Liu: We hope to see grid parity as soon as possible. The large initial investment in the PV industry should be to the benefit of people’s livelihoods. In terms of our expectations for TÜV Rheinland, we feel it is currently doing a great job, and we hope to see it continue to innovate and help drive the PV industry forward.
Shuangquan He: As business operators, we should always be creative in exploring sustainable development paths for our businesses. We hope that TÜV Rheinland can continue to drive the growth of the PV industry in China, help create top international brands and assist us in upgrading from price sales to value sales.
Zhongwei Zhang: We hope to reduce the amount of fossil energy, and see subsidies in place for the PV industry as soon as possible, to assist in the healthy development of the industry. Our expectations for TÜV Rheinland are to be fair, successful and to progress with the times. We thank TÜV Rheinland for its long-term support!
Hao Jin: We hope the PV industry will drive the general clean energy industry and bring added value to millions of households. We hope that TÜV Rheinland can be fully transformed from a third-party testing service provider to a more localised player, conducting in-depth research in the industry from their third-party perspective.
Yanhu Zhang: We hope to see more technical innovations and lower costs per kilowatt hour in terms of the electricity generation. The industry should be independent from government subsidies and achieve grid parity as soon as possible. The proportion of PV power used should be increased. We hope that TÜV Rheinland continues to be rigorous, scientific and fair, and has a more extensive influence on quality in the PV industry.
Weichun Li: “Thank you! The sustainable and healthy development of the PV industry requires our joint efforts in technical innovation and quality control. We have a broad market space, outstanding talent, advanced technologies and adequate funds. What we need now is good products. We should vigorously develop new technologies and new products, while keeping the bottom line of quality control to make better products, through which the Chinese PV industry can lead global development with superior quality. TÜV Rheinland will unswervingly prioritise good quality and thus pave the way for a brighter future for the PV industry. Thank you!”
