Xi’an LONGi and ET Solar lately announced the creation of a monocrystalline module joint venture targeting global markets in Shanghai. The two companies’ goal with the joint venture is to push for the adoption of mono-si modules under the “ET Solar” brand.
On the signing ceremony on 25th July, Zhong Baoshen, the chairman of Xi’an LONGi Corp., said that LONGi and ET Solar’s compatibility is well embodied with their common faith and strong complementary strengths on operation and strategies. ‘We hope to shine in the industry with our strengths on production techniques from LONGi, trading and marketing from ET Solar,’ said Zhong.
‘It’s represented by the agreement that we will strengthen our collaboration in mono-si module development, production, trade, and marketing,’ stated Xinghua Wang, the Chairman of ET Solar. He added that ET Solar will be the major shareholder of the joint venture.
More than 5GW of ET Solar’s PV modules has been shipped worldwide to clients from over 90 countries and regions. On the other hand, LONGi and its subsidiary Lerri Solar contributed to the largest percentage of monocrystalline demand in China, supplying products including mono-si wafers, PV cells, and modules.
Kickstart: 500MW
The ET Solar JV will kick-start with a first year production goal of over 500 MW. LONGi will mainly be in charge of supplying high efficiency mono-si wafers and PV cells, while ET Solar will take care of module assembling and product marketing. It shall become the second mono-si module specialist after Lerri Solar in China.
However, business regarding Lerri Solar and ET Solar’s downstream segment won’t be covered by the joint venture.
Lerri Solar will stand on its own. High-end, high efficiency mono-si production will be under Lerri Solar, while ET Solar will mostly take charge of standard mono-si production. As Zhong stated, this tactic would help expand mono-si products’ overall market share. Likewise, ET Solar’s EPC services and power plant development will follow a similar route as more downstream power plants switch to mono-si modules.
(Written originally in Chinese by Rhea Tsao, Chief Editor of EnergyTrend. Translated by Eva Huang and edited by Kevin Yang, Translators at TrendForce Corp.)