The Zhitong Finance App learned that Guohai Securities released a research report saying that cooperation in the copper electroplating industry will be strengthened in 2023, pilot verification is expected to accelerate, and for the first time it will cover a “recommended” rating. In the early stages of mass production, equipment is invested first, and in the graphical phase, the current LDI industrialization leader is expected to be the first to be released. The focus is on Core Microprocessor (688630.SH). Masking lithography has supply chain advantages, and focuses on Su Da Wig (300331.SZ). The electroplating process, VDI solution production cycle and customer verification are relatively advanced, with a focus on Robortec (300757.SZ). In the materials sector, ink has significant economic advantages, focusing on Guangxin Materials (300537.SZ).
Incidents:According to Robortec's official account: On June 13, 2023, the company held a “single GW grade solar cell copper plating equipment” shipping ceremony. The RTA-CPH-4000/24000 model copper plating equipment increased the production capacity of a single unit from 600 MW to 1 GW, reducing the floor area by 20%, and is suitable for various high-efficiency battery processes such as HJT and XBC.
The main views of Guohai Securities are as follows:
Industrial cooperation has been strengthened, and pilot verification has been accelerated.Cooperation in the copper electroplating industry chain will be strengthened in 2023: (1) On January 29, Robotco and China Power Investment Group signed a “Strategic Cooperation Agreement Framework” to establish a comprehensive strategic cooperation on copper grid HJT battery VDI electroplating solutions; (2) On January 30, Dongwei Technology signed a “Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Vertical Continuous Electroplating Solution for Copper Grid HJT Batteries” to establish strategic cooperation on vertical continuous plating solutions for copper grid HJT batteries; (3) According to Haiyuan Composite's public account, May 24, China Power Investment Group and China Power Investment New Energy Core Go micropacks and Guangxin materials are in The Shanghai SNEC venue signed a strategic cooperation agreement on high-efficiency and low-cost N-type battery copper plating metallization technology to cooperate in the development of N-type battery copper plating technology. The bank believes that in the context of strengthened industrial cooperation, pilot verification of copper plating is expected to accelerate in 2023, and small-batch mass production is expected to enter the stage of mass production in 2024.
The pilot line is gradually maturing, and production capacity, costs, and yield need to be optimized.Graphing and electroplating are core processes, and various solutions are currently being verified at an accelerated pace. In the graphical session, the current progress of ink+LDI industrialization is leading the way, while focusing on the progress of the mask lithography program; in the electroplating process, the current VDI program production pace, customer verification, etc. are relatively leading, while also focusing on the progress of horizontal electroplating solutions. At present, the pilot line for copper electroplating is gradually maturing, but indicators such as production capacity, cost and yield need to be further optimized. In terms of costs, equipment and material costs are currently high. Equipment cost reduction involves factors such as production scale and business negotiations. Increased production capacity may be an indirect method; material cost reduction can be achieved through material selection, process optimization, production scale, etc., and the mass production stage is expected to accelerate. In terms of production capacity, production capacity is being increased at all stages of the pilot phase, and the problem of capacity matching has yet to be solved. In terms of yield, in the early stages of industrialization, downstream customers were more receptive to product yield and performance, and the mass production stage needed to be gradually optimized.
Risk warning:Equipment development and verification progress fell short of expectations; material development and verification progress fell short of expectations; HJT capacity construction fell short of expectations; industry competition increased risks; downstream customer acceptance fell short of expectations; and the focus was on the risk that the company's performance did not meet expectations.