L R AS Published on Saturday 4 September 2021 - n° 372 - Categories:industrial strategy
Agreement between the Chinese JinkoSolar and CATL
JinkoSolar wants to develop storage, hence its agreement with Chinese CATL, one of the world's leading suppliers of lithium-ion cells and batteries.
https://www.pv-tech.org/jinkosolar-signs-strategic-solar-storage-agreement-with-catl/
PV Tech of 2 September 2021
Editor's note: Panel manufacturers are looking for diversification to expand their business. For a long time, manufacturers have wanted to invest in the construction and ownership of solar power plants. However, this activity is very capital intensive. It has put many companies on the verge of bankruptcy, the most emblematic example being GCL Poly, which has to sell its power plants at a loss to obtain cash.
Another attempt is that of Trina Solar, which has invested in a company of trackers that carry the panels. It seems to be working well for this company, but it has not been emulated.
The panel manufacturers then sought agreements with other producers located in other stages of the industry. Thus Tongwei cells with silicon manufacturing; LONGi which is a wafer specialist has invested in panel production, and more recently in cells. Zhonghuan, a wafer specialist, is investing in silicon manufacturing. The objective is then clear, to be present on the various stages of the sector or even to cover the whole sector to avoid suffering the price increases that the silicon manufacturers have imposed on the profession.
The JinkoSolar-CATL agreement has another philosophy, that of an extension of the activity. It is certain that storage will develop rapidly in the years to come and that the installations of electricity companies or large corporations need storage to conserve their solar production. So there is an economic logic. The only question is who will be the winner in this association: CATL, the world's number 1, has mastered the technology. JinkoSolar, formerly the world's number one producer of panels, has no intention of adopting an aggressive development attitude. Will it therefore be marginalised in its profession, and then fall prey to CATL?
