Tongwei To Invest RMB 4bn To Add Further 40,000 MT Polysilicon Which Will Bring Its Total Capacity To World Leading 155,000 Tons

Chinese polysilicon and solar cell manufacturer Tongwei Group has announced plans to invest about RMB 20 billion ($2.87 billion) to build a 30 GW of high efficiency solar cell manufacturing hub in Chengdu province of China that would bring its total capacity to 60 GW by end of next year.

In a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing, Tongwei shared that the Jintang County located hub will be implemented in four phases. The first and second phases with an investment of RMB 4 billion ($574 million) each will realize 7.5 GW of new solar cell capacity, to be followed by phases 3 and 4 that will add another 15 GW with an investment of RMB 6 billion ($860 million) for each phase – and all of this will be spread on some 600 acres of land.

The first phase of 7.5 GW is expected to come online before March 2020 and will be fully operational by 2021. Subsequent capacity will need another three to five years to be operationalized depending on market demand. Tongwei will develop this capacity through its subsidiary Tongwei Solar Energy Co., Ltd.

The plan is to produce and improve performance of PERC products at the new hub while using heterojunction (HJT) and TOPCon technology as well. Cells produced here will be fully compatible with all wafer sizes including large M12 wafers with 210 mm side length.

Currently, Tongwei’s high-efficiency solar cell production capacity adds up to 20 GW comprising 85% of mono-crystalline cells and it promises to launch N-type materials according to market demand.

The addition of this 30 GW capacity will shoot up the company’s overall production capacity to 60 GW by 2021. Under its medium-term development plan for 2020-2023, the management is aiming for phase-wise development of its cumulative capacity to between 80 GW to 100 GW by 2023.

With research and development as one of the focus areas of the company under the development plan, Tongwei said, “It will promote the upgrading of monocrystalline PERC technology, strengthen the research and development of new technologies such as N-type TopCon, N-type HJT, and further improve conversion efficiencies, ensuring that the company is always at the leading level in the solar cell field.”

In June 2019, Tongwei entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with LONGi to acquire 30% stakes in each other’s manufacturing facilities (see Strategic Tie-Up Between LONGi & Tongwei).