The history of human economic development is a history of energy.
From drilling wood for fire to steam engines, from coal to oil and gas, from fossil energy to wind, solar, and hydrogen, the development and utilization of energy has always been the cornerstone of human social and economic development.
However, with the environmental challenges brought about by industrialization, especially the intensification of global climate change, the mode of energy use needs to be changed urgently. In this context, carbon neutrality and sustainable development have become global issues, marking the need for mankind to complete the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy structure.
Photovoltaics have gradually revealed their unique value in this energy revolution and have become an important green energy source. Especially under the combined effect of policy support and technological innovation, the cost of photovoltaic continues to decline and the water level of traditional energy is in line, and photovoltaic in the era of parity has become more competitive, and its continuous installation speed exceeding expectations also confirms this.
Although the pace of PV installation is already very fast, by the end of 2023, China's PV power generation accounted for only 6.1%, lower than the EU 8.6% and India's 6.3%, and there is still a big gap from future targets. A previous report released by the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom pointed out that solar energy will become the most competitive energy source in the next few years. The report predicts that by 2044, photovoltaics will account for more than 50% of global electricity generation.
In the past three years, the technology of the photovoltaic industry has also continued to develop rapidly with the installed capacity. Up to now, the production capacity of N-type TOPCon cells has exceeded 600GW, and the cell technology in the photovoltaic industry has completed the transformation from P-type Perc to N-type TOPCon cells, and the photovoltaic conversion efficiency has increased from 23% to 26%, which has greatly promoted the progress of the industry.
1. Photovoltaic cell companies continue to invest
The principle of photovoltaic power generation is based on the photogenerated volt effect, i.e. when sunlight irradiates the PN junction of a semiconductor, a voltage occurs at both ends of the PN junction. This is the theoretical basis of photovoltaic cell technology, which provides support for the subsequent development of P-type and N-type cells.
Before 2016, photovoltaic cells were mainly aluminum back-field (BSF) cells, which were relatively simple in structure and low in cost, and were widely used in the early stage of the development of the photovoltaic industry. However, in 2018, with lower costs, higher conversion efficiency and simpler processes, P-type PERC cells have risen rapidly, but the ultimate conversion efficiency of PERC cells is 24.5%.
Photovoltaic cell companies have not stopped the pace of technology research and development, and have begun to study N-type TOPCon cell technology.
N-type TOPCon has the advantages of low attenuation, high bifaciality, and low temperature coefficient, and the power generation gain effect will be better in the terminal power station. As the practical application of P-type PERC has approached the theoretical limit, N-type TOPCon has gradually taken center stage.
(Source: Hamelin Institute for Solar Energy, Germany)
In 2013, the TOPCon technology concept was presented by the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. Since then, photovoltaic cell companies have continued to invest in the research of the possibility of mass production of TOPCon. In 2019, the industry established a 900MW TOPCon cell mass production line for the first time. In June 2021, a new world record of 25.02% for TOPCon cell conversion efficiency was announced. In October 2021, the mass production of 8GW TOPCon cells was realized. In 2022, TOPCon technology will begin large-scale mass production, gradually replacing PERC technology.
The continuous investment of photovoltaic cell companies has promoted the technological change of the industry.
(Source: CPIA)
Second, the equipment manufacturer provides tools
The substitution of P-type to N-type technology routes is not achieved overnight, and a series of difficulties need to be overcome to move cells from the laboratory stage to the mass production stage.
TOPCon cells are upgraded from the PERC cell infrastructure, and the main process differences are in two steps: boron diffusion and tunneling oxidation, and the preparation of doped polysilicon layers. Therefore, it is important to have equipment that can effectively perform these two processes.
From 2017 to 2022, the mainstream battery technology in the industry is still PERC technology, and companies in the next-generation technology industry are generally optimistic about HJT technology, and there is no mainstream equipment manufacturer to invest resources in the research and development of equipment required for TOPCon technology.
Laplace was born in this context.
The founder of Laplace, Dr. Lin Jiaji, graduated from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Xiamen University in the Department of Physics, and worked at the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERIS) in Singapore. He was keenly aware of the core strategic position of the photovoltaic industry in global competition, so he decided to return to China.
With a deep understanding of the industry, Dr. Lin foresaw the trend of upgrading photovoltaic cells from P-type to N-type early on. In 2017, Laplace was the first in the world to put the core process boron diffusion equipment and LPCVD equipment in the N-type cell process into mass production, providing a mature and reliable solution for the preparation of tunneling oxide layer and doped polysilicon layer, and solving the core technical pain points of the industry's technological transformation and upgrading. With its active and pragmatic production and operation, Laplace has also benefited from this round of technological change.
According to the company's prospectus, in the process of gradual iteration of PERC technology to a new generation of cells, the company's core process equipment has completed the coverage of multiple downstream mainstream customers, and as of the end of 2023, the company still has 11.67 billion yuan of orders in hand, ensuring steady growth in performance in the next few years.
The reason why Laplace was able to respond quickly and build high barriers to entry during the critical window period of industry change stems from the company's adherence to the concept of "technological innovation as the primary productive force".
Dr. Lin and his core team members have a solid background in science and engineering disciplines and have been deeply involved in the photovoltaic industry for many years, which has laid a solid technical foundation for Laplace. From 2020 to 2023, R&D expenses have increased by leaps and bounds from 27.3178 million yuan to 232 million yuan, with a compound growth rate of more than 100%, demonstrating the company's great attention and firm commitment to technological innovation.
It was learned from the State Intellectual Property Office that up to now, the company has obtained a total of 660 authorized patents (including 73 invention patents), which provides a strong guarantee for continuous innovation.
With deep technical accumulation and excellent team, the company can take the lead in solving the underlying support of the bottleneck of high-efficiency solar cell development, has assisted downstream customers to refresh the world record of photovoltaic cell conversion efficiency for more than 10 times, and helped downstream customers in the industry to achieve large-scale production and mass production of new high-efficiency photovoltaic cell technologies such as TOPCon and XBC.
In the process of switching from P-type to N-type, equipment manufacturers have also contributed to their part.
III. Conclusion
Under the eternal tone of reducing costs and increasing efficiency in the photovoltaic industry, technological innovation has always been the key driving force for the development of the industry. Those companies that can take technology as the core driver are often able to grasp the pulse of industry development in a more forward-looking way, and continue to be at the forefront of representing the future trends of the industry.
In the process of transformation from P-type PERC to N-type TOPCon, we have seen the unremitting exploration and continuous investment of photovoltaic cell companies and equipment manufacturers, who continue to challenge the technical limits, promote the improvement of cell conversion efficiency, and open up a new path for the development of the industry.
Looking ahead, the PV industry still has huge potential for development. With the continuous progress of technology, we have reason to believe that the conversion efficiency of photovoltaic cells will be further improved, the cost will be further reduced, and the proportion of photovoltaic power generation in the global energy structure will continue to increase. In this process, photovoltaic companies and equipment manufacturers need to continue to work together to overcome technical problems and promote the sustainable development of the industry.
As the history of human energy has shown, every energy revolution has brought about tremendous social and economic progress. As a new generation of green energy, photovoltaic is standing on the cusp of the times and shouldering the important task of promoting global energy transition. In this energy revolution, technological innovation will continue to play a vital role, leading the photovoltaic industry to a more brilliant tomorrow and creating a cleaner and better energy future for mankind.