According to Caixin, Longi Green Energy (601012.SH) may collaborate with other companies to launch HBC products. In the era dominated by TOPCon and heterojunction (HJT) technologies, Longi Green Energy has not officially launched n-type BC products. Currently, its two main products HPBC and HPBC2.0, although reaching the same level of photoelectric conversion efficiency as n-type products, are still p-type cell modules.

Goldensolar (01121.HK) announced this evening that its wholly-owned subsidiary Goldensolar (Quanzhou) has entered into a joint venture agreement with Fujian CECEP Electrical Utilities Co., Ltd. (referred to as 'CECEP') and Longi. The contracting parties will jointly establish a joint venture company to produce HBC solar cells.

A person close to Longi Green Energy told Caixin that because the cooperation amount did not meet the company's disclosure standards, Longi Green Energy does not need to release relevant announcements. According to Goldensolar's disclosure, the registered capital of the joint venture company is RMB 0.659 billion, with CECEP, Goldensolar (Quanzhou), and Longi holding equity interests of 52.51%, 27.31%, and 20.18%, respectively. Longi Green Energy will contribute by injecting company assets, with an amount of approximately RMB 0.133 billion, while CECEP and Goldensolar (Quanzhou) will contribute with cash and assets injections, with amounts of RMB 0.346 billion and RMB 0.18 billion, respectively.

Caixin noticed that the other two companies also focus on BC technology. In September 2023, Goldensolar announced the successful construction of the first production line of the new generation heterojunction back contact (HBC) cell. According to Putian Net News, in April of this year, Fujian CECEP Electrical Utilities Co., Ltd. achieved large-scale production of back contact heterojunction cells (HBC) with a photoelectric conversion efficiency of 27%.

HBC, also known as heterojunction back contact technology, combines the heterojunction (HJT) cell structure with the interdigitated back contact (IBC) cell structure to form a new type of solar cell structure. According to Goldensolar's disclosure, the joint venture company will upgrade Longi's four PERC production lines in the Xi'an Aerospace Industry Base into high-efficiency HBC production lines.

This indicates that Longi will launch a technical modification of its previous generation p-type cell capacity. According to the agreement, after meeting the relevant contractual specifications in terms of efficiency and quality, the joint venture company will sell most of the HBC solar cells it produces to Longi or its affiliates, who will further package them into modules for sale.

Goldensolar has not yet disclosed a specific timetable for the transformation project. If this project is successfully completed, Longi may source HBC cells externally. Market analysts told Caixin that this move would help alleviate Longi's short-term shortage of BC production capacity.

In the previous semi-annual earnings conference, Longi Green Energy stated that by the first quarter of next year, the company's BC2.0 will have nearly 20GW of capacity released. It is expected that by the end of 2025, Longi Green Energy's BC capacity will reach 70GW, with HPBC2.0 capacity accounting for approximately 50GW. By the end of 2026, their domestic battery base plans to fully convert to BC products.

According to market analysts interviewed by Caijing News Agency, compared to the existing capacity of TOPCon, Longi also needs 'external force' to increase market scale. Currently, TOPCon products have a leading market share, and the development and mass production of the next generation TBC (which combines TOPCon and BC technologies) are also underway, which may become mainstream in the future. Therefore, in order for Longi to maintain its leadership in BC products, it needs to launch HBC products earlier.