Cost reduction and efficiency improvement are the main themes of the photovoltaic industry. All links in the industry chain cannot avoid these four words. Size upgrade and standardization are no exception.
From the confrontation between 182 and 210 in 2020 to the gradual realization of sub-format and small-scale size standardization in the past two years, this round of size competition, which started in the silicon wafer link and spread to the component link, has lasted for 4 years.
There is an obvious change. The focus of everyone's competition is no longer the initial size difference. Because the industry has developed to this day, the market can accommodate and need photovoltaic products of different sizes.
Obviously, the size competition has entered the 2.0 era, and cost reduction and efficiency improvement call for a new form-
While pursuing larger size and higher efficiency, the entire industry chain should pay more attention to improving the standardization level of similar products in different application scenarios, thereby stimulating new momentum for industrial development.
Looking back on the past, it is not difficult to find that the development of larger silicon wafers has always been the main technical means to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the silicon wafer, battery and module links. In the first 19 years of the 21st century, the size of silicon wafers gradually climbed from 100mm to 166mm, and the pace of upgrading was relatively "calm".
In 2020, the situation suddenly changed.
This year, in 2020, LONGi Green Energy launched 182 silicon wafers and modules, and on June 24 of this year, it issued a "Joint Initiative on Establishing Standard Sizes for the Photovoltaic Industry" with 7 photovoltaic companies including JinkoSolar and JA Solar, advocating the establishment of a silicon wafer standard with a size of 182mm*182mm (length*width).
Just 15 days later, on July 9, 2020, 39 upstream and downstream companies in the industry chain, including TCL Zhonghuan, Trina Solar, and Risen Energy, jointly established the "600W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance". In this alliance, the module leader Trina Solar launched an ultra-high power module of 600W+, using the 210mm silicon wafer launched by TCL Zhonghuan the previous year.
The gap between silicon wafer size and module power suddenly widened, and the originally "calm" upgrade rhythm was broken, and the two major camps of 182 and 210 also stepped onto the stage of "size competition".
The size dispute, on the surface, seems to be about the size of silicon wafers and modules, but in essence, it is about the power of modules.
"The biggest contribution of 210 products to the industry is to drive the industry into the high-power era quickly, open up the entire industry chain from scratch, and reduce the cost per kilowatt-hour." Recalling the development process of 210 module products, Dr. Wang Le, head of Trina Solar's battery module technology engineering center, could not hide his excitement.
As early as August 2019, when TCL Zhonghuan launched 210 silicon wafers, Trina Solar began to simultaneously promote the planning of 210 module products.
On January 27, 2020, Trina Solar's first batch of 210 module products rolled off the production line; in March, Trina Solar announced 500W+ products, and the new 210 module products took the lead in entering the 500W+ ranks. At that time, 166 modules dominated the market, but the power could only reach 450W at most.
Also in 2020, Trina Solar's 210 module power reached 600W+, and took the lead in establishing the "600W+ Photovoltaic Open Innovation Ecological Alliance", becoming the undisputed pioneer of the 210 camp.
"On the one hand, the 210 module can reduce the initial investment cost, which is cost reduction, and on the other hand, it can increase power generation, which is efficiency improvement." Wang Le explained that the 210 module has a high power, low opening voltage and high power characteristics, which can effectively increase the string length and power, and reduce the number of photovoltaic system strings, which can save power station investment costs to a certain extent. According to calculations, compared with the 182 product, the 210 700W+ product has a BOS advantage of about 3-5 cents in large ground power station scenarios.
In addition, the low voltage characteristics of the 210 product also have an inherent excellent low irradiation performance, so that the impact of rainy weather on the module power generation can be effectively reduced within the life cycle of the module.
In 2023, with the improvement of TOPCon cell technology, the power of Trina Solar's TOPCon cell module products will rapidly increase to 700W. In December of that year, Trina Solar and the industry upgraded the "700W+ Open Innovation Ecological Alliance".
As of the first quarter of 2024, Trina Solar's 210 modules have cumulatively shipped more than 120GW, and the industry's cumulative shipments of 210 modules have exceeded 260GW.
This sends an extremely clear signal - the market is increasingly actively embracing silicon wafers and components with sizes represented by 210mm.
Source：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/B8dJIdWlq-9aRBg7UoPXyA