L R AS Published on Tuesday 22 March 2022 - n° 398 - Categories:the manufacturers
How many panel producers and integrated producers are there in China?
Nobody knows how many panel manufacturers there are in the world. Some of the factories are dormant, other manufacturers are only distributors. The real number of active panel suppliers is probably close to
of 100, but this is very broad because it counts units of 20-30 MW as being of importance to the sector as a whole.
The issue came up when forced labour in Xinjiang came up. We wanted to check who was making what. It was found that global panel supply is concentrated in about 50 major panel suppliers; that the adoption of N-type technology is likely to take place within the industry over the next few years, and that panel prices are likely to remain at current levels over the next 18-24 months.
Most PV panel manufacturers in the world have no control over their supply chain. Only five suppliers have a presence in the entire supply chain by making their own ingots, wafers, cells, panels, but none make their own silicon.
Of the 100 or so manufacturers, a first group of 40 is able to produce its own cells and sell abroad. A second group of 40 other intermediaries only manufacture for the 40 or so large exporting groups. There are 20 panel suppliers left today that have in-house cell/panel production capacity and a global (not domestic) panel supply footprint. Of these 20, only five control the production from ingot to panel on a global scale. The other fifteen buy wafers from other companies and then produce the cells and panels. However, of these five, none produces its own silicon. Thus, there is no fully integrated producer.
This is a consequence of the producers' belief that all wafers and cells are equal and that it is better to buy cheaper products from outside than to produce them in-house. In reality, it is the way to obtain a variable quality of product.
Today, there is a desire to set up a kind of audit that certifies that a panel does not contain silicon manufactured in Xinjiang. There is also the unknown for panel manufacturers of the policy followed by cell manufacturers in twelve months time. Knowing who makes what and where is the best way to adapt. This puts everyone in a good position for the next "event" that will occur in the PV industry.
Currently, it is difficult to know who is behind the audit of the production and value chain. However, this is perhaps the most important issue to consider now, again!
PV Tech of 15 March 2022
Editor's note: If we follow this breakdown, we conclude that there is no real unity in the industry, that silicon manufacturers are alien to the PV world, even if they are a fundamental part of it. We also notice that there is a concentration of production well beyond what was perceived, since we always talk about the top ten, suggesting that there is a line of manufacturers behind this leading group.
