On the evening of September 27, CATL Chairman Zeng Yuqun made a rare response to the media, stating that CATL has no plans to acquire any photovoltaic (PV) companies, including DAS Solar.
Previously, rumors circulated that CATL was planning to acquire DAS Solar. There were also reports that CATL was in close talks with one of the four major module manufacturers, LONGi, Jinko, JA Solar, or Trina Solar, for a potential acquisition or equity stake. However, all of these rumors have been proven false.
Where did the “acquisition” rumors come from?
No smoke without fire—why were there such rumors in the market? The underlying logic, in my opinion, lies in the trend of industry integration between photovoltaics and energy storage.
Currently, besides LONGi Green Energy, PV companies like Trina Solar, Sungrow, Canadian Solar, Risen Energy, Jinko Solar, GCL, and even Tongwei Co., Ltd. are all aggressively expanding their energy storage teams. In fact, Tongwei is actively laying out its energy storage business. Given this trend of PV-storage integration, PV companies are making strategic moves in energy storage. As the leader in the energy storage sector, it is a reasonable speculation that CATL would need to fill this gap by acquiring PV assets.
Reason Two: The current drop in PV companies' valuations allows CATL to “pick up a bargain.” For instance, LONGi Green Energy once had a market value of 550 billion RMB at its peak, but now it is only 120 billion RMB.
Will CATL acquire a PV company in the future?
Some may still ask, “If CATL says it's not considering it now, will it acquire one in the future?” I believe the chances of CATL acquiring a PV company remain slim. First, PV companies’ valuations are low now, and they could drop even further. A well-known PV commentator, “Lao Yang,” once predicted during a livestream that 3-4 of the top 10 PV companies could go bankrupt before the industry reshuffles. CATL has no need to rush to invest when the outcome is still uncertain.
Second, even though the trend toward PV-storage integration is clear, there’s no need for CATL to “raise a pig just to eat pork.” Huang Shilin, CATL’s former “second-in-command,” left to establish Time New Energy, which focuses on PV-storage-charging integration. Based on its current development trajectory, its reliance on PV isn’t that strong. There are already enough stable, high-quality PV products on the market. It’s also important to clarify that rumors about CATL acquiring one of the four major PV module manufacturers—LONGi, Jinko, JA Solar, or Trina Solar—are completely false. Even though their profit margins have dropped significantly, these companies still have abundant cash flow and are far from being forced into a sale.
Summary: PV technology is already very mature, and CATL is unlikely to either develop its own PV capabilities or acquire a PV company. In the future, it will likely achieve PV-storage integration through industrial cooperation.
What will CATL do next?
There have been multiple rumors in the past about CATL acquiring various companies, but these were all debunked. Looking at CATL’s trajectory since its founding, it has always been centered on battery products. Without a significant strategic shift, it is unlikely that CATL will venture into a completely new market.
For CATL to deepen its presence in the PV-storage sector, its next major focus will likely be on the alternating current (AC) side. The key to building a new type of power system lies in promoting integration of generation, grid, load, and storage. CATL has already mastered battery manufacturing on the direct current (DC) side. If CATL is to support the reform of the power system, it will likely prioritize advancing products on the AC side rather than manufacturing PV panels.
In a previous article pointed out that building large-scale energy storage systems for generation and grid sides offers greater advantages. The smooth delivery and implementation of large energy storage projects depend on the supplier’s understanding of power grids worldwide. CATL has already delivered a large number of integrated energy storage systems overseas, and they need to shift from an equipment manufacturer to a solutions provider—a more comprehensive role that deeply understands power grids and electrical systems.
PV-storage integration is not just about integrating PV and energy storage manufacturing. A more important trend is the integration of AC and DC systems, which is something that all energy storage manufacturers should be paying attention to.
Source：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/71Do0_FCRe0XKhnDrfgcnw