Review technology Suntech: The Chinese with a European strategy

Suntech headquarters in , – founded in 2002, the company employs approx. 8,000 people at five sites in China and Japan. Photos (2): Suntech

Chinese companies have long been in the PV world more efficiently and minimise installation costs, as well as costs for BOS components.” league and are striving to increase production None of this can be verified right now. The first commercially produced monocrystalline Pluto solar volumes. Suntech, however, is dancing to its own tune. cells are to have an efficiency of 18 to 19 % with a ris- ing trend. 20 % is to be reached even within 2008, n the run-up to the 23rd European Photovoltaic said a statement by Suntech at the beginning of the Conference and Exhibition (EU year. If these figures are correct, then in power terms I­PVSEC) the Chinese company Suntech announced the Pluto cells will join the high-efficiency class along- that it would be “showing its new highly efficient side HIT, A-300 and Saturn. ­Pluto technology”. What was then on show there was indeed a module which externally looked very diffe- What is Pluto? rent to a standard crystalline module. Unfortunately, that was all there was. Details on This seems to be a big secret. The Chinese company the production procedures were not forthcoming, nei- Suntech doesn’t exactly have a reputation for exuber- ther from the Suntech technicians present, nor from antly force-feeding journalists with press material Jerry Stokes, who runs Suntech Power International anyway­ – one look at the website is enough to ­realise: from Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Stokes proved to be we work and don’t talk. Hardly a word can be found a true Brit and warded off indiscrete questions polite- on the Pluto technology, which is after all a PR show- ly but firmly (see interview on page 36). And it was piece for the Chinese company. Apart from general not just journalists who would have liked to know platitudes, nothing can be gleaned about the tech- more about Pluto. With a target efficiency of over nology. 20 % the Chinese company is directly challenging the Those interested thus have to make do with spec- competition, whether Sanyo, Sunpower or BP. This ulation. The most likely answer is that Pluto is a vari- even more so as company president Stokes an- ant of the PERL cell. The abbreviation stands for “pas- nounced the series production of the Pluto high-­ sivated emitter and rear, locally diffused“ – a cell con- power cells would not increase production costs. cept originating with Martin Green of the University of “The solar modules manufactured with Pluto technol- New South Wales, the basics of which he described ogy are more efficient and provide a higher output almost 20 years ago. power without increasing production costs”, he It is the cell surface which makes it likely that the ­stated. “To make the Pluto technology we utilise cell is related to the PERL concept – it consists of around 80 % of a standard silicon PV cell production ­pyramid-shaped indentations. This textured surface line and then add two unique pieces of equipment is coated with a passivity and anti-reflection layer: In that we have developed in-house.” Stokes also sees the original PERL cell this was made of silicon oxide. advantages in the power to area ratio of the future Below this layer is the emitter layer, which has two Pluto modules: “The powerful Pluto panels use space special characteristics: firstly, various etching proce-

34 34 Sun & Wind Energy 1/2009 dures create the repeated inverted pyramid topology already mentioned, and secondly, it is n-doped with Seven years to become the king of modules varying intensities. In places where the emitter layer touches the conducting contact strips the n-doping is Suntech Power Holdings Ltd was founded in 2001. Based in Wuxi, China, Suntech higher, thus resulting in lower impedance than in Power Holdings Ltd is the world’s largest manufacturer of solar modules, according other places. to its own statements. At the last count the sale of solar modules accounted for ap- The rather typically “waffle-like” form of the cell prox. 78 % of turnover, and solar cells about 20 %. The company has four produc- surface is intended to make sure that as much light as tion sites (Wuxi, , and ), with ten production lines for so- possible can enter, but that this incident light cannot lar cells and a production capacity of over 300 MW. Suntech sources its polysilicon easily get out again. With the PERL cell at least, the from the South Korean company DC Chemical. Other suppliers of solar wafers are creation of this special surface required two photo Glory Silicon, Wacker Schott, as well as PV Crystalox Solar and ReneSola. masking steps: an etching step to create the “waffle For 2008 Suntech Power recently upped its turnover forecast of US$ 2.1 billion structure“ – i.e. the inverse pyramids – and a second to US$ 2.15 billion. For next year the board expects the US$ 3 billion barrier to be diffusion step to create the more highly doped areas broken. Module production is to then reach 550 MW. Suntech would then definite- below the contact strips. In a third step the whole cell ly be one of the three largest solar manufacturers in the world, alongside ­Q-Cells surface was then doped without a mask. and Sharp. The manufacturing sounds complicated, and with the PERL cells at least, it was. It was not unfounded that simplifying the manufacturing process was the main talking point in discussions back then, more so This orientation towards cheaper mass production than increasing the light-active area and increasing will put these companies into a highly competitive the rate of efficiency. Apparently Suntech has found a environment, one which Suntech hopes to at least solution, for other than through a radical simplifica- partially avoid through its Pluto technology initiative. tion of the process, there is no way of keeping the The orientation towards technology instead of sheer promise of not having increased production costs. volume can be described as being a typically ­European strategy – all the big-name European solar A technology offensive instead manufacturers are technically diversifying their of mass production ­product portfolios and are certainly not solely relying on cost-effective mass production of crystalline solar As a Chinese company Suntech has clear competitive cells and modules. advantages over European solar manufactures, for The company can certainly afford this technology example. It is thus all the more remarkable that offensive. Growth is extremely vehement, with growth ­company founder and current Head of the Board rates of partially over 50 %. The gross margins Zhengrong Shi clearly does not want to permanently achieved are in the same league as leading European stick with this location advantage – and it certainly companies, and lie between 20 and 25 %. There is does not look as if this will survive in the long term. thus enough money available. The first Pluto modules Shi wants more: He wants to grow and at the same are due to be delivered in the first quarter of 2009. time grow into a high-quality product segment with Maybe then the secret of Pluto and PERL can be un- the highly efficient Pluto cell. This strategy clearly covered. separates Suntech from the country-typical solar Jörn Iken companies, which are aiming for rapid expansion of Further information: capacities and taking over the leadership on costs. www.suntech-power.com

Suntech is on the techno- logical path: Not quan- tity, but quality is what should secure company growth.

Sun & Wind Energy 1/2009 35 Review Technology „Demand is rising dramatically“

Jerry Stokes is the President of Suntech’s established markets in Europe are continu- Jerry Stokes European region and is also responsible for ing to develop very positively. We then also Photo: Willi Breuer the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Prior to have the sleeping giants – India and China. Demand may take off very rapidly there. But joining Suntech, he served as Vice President that is not all. We are also convinced that of International Sales and Marketing for MSK there will be a new support programme for Corporation, one of Japan’s largest PV in Japan. This year the Japa- manufacturers. Prior to joining MSK, Stokes nese market is only running at 150 MW, but was Sales & Marketing Director of AEA the infrastructure is in place to enable it to Technology Battery Systems, he also spent grow to 350 MW or more next year. In the S&WE: Let’s talk about China; there is virtu- USA we can see a strong appetite for large- ally no home market there. What is going nine years at Sanyo Energy UK, the battery scale PV applications. wrong? division of Sanyo, lately as Sales Director. Stokes: Nothing. Firstly, China is a strong lo- Sun & Wind Energy talked to him at the 23rd S&WE: Do you believe in an ongoing solar cation for production. The conditions here EU PVSEC in Valencia about the Pluto boom in the USA? enable us to meet a worldwide demand at technology and the company’s strategy. Stokes: It is difficult to get a national pro- competitive prices. Europeans are also bene- gramme for PV going. This is not just because fiting from this. Don’t forget that Chinese S&WE: Mr. Stokes, what is the secret of the of the election – even afterwards it won’t be businesses are among the largest purchas- Pluto technology? the first priority of the new President; we ers of European manufacturing technology Stokes: I obviously cannot disclose our se- have to be realistic about that. But the gener- and European components. We have high- crets. I can say this, though: The Pluto tech- al trend towards renewable energies can no volume supply contracts with PV Crystalox nology helps us to both make better use of longer be stopped. As and when costs come and Schott Solar, for example. Some of the silicon as a raw material and to increase the down, the US market will play a permanent modules which we supply to Europe have a efficiency. role in the worldwide PV economy. European added-value share of 90 %. Apart from this the Chinese market will also devel- S&WE: Can you be a bit more specific? S&WE: Will you be able to keep pace with op into a purchasing market. China has rec- Stokes: With a traditional cell you lose some market developments? ognised that the use of modern technology yield because of the bus bars on the front Stokes: This will be possible with long-term is one of the prerequisites for being competi- side, which quite simply limit the amount of delivery contracts and large volumes. We tive on the world market in the future. This area which can be used. With the Pluto cell have secured around a gigawatt of solar sili- applies to both energy saving and energy we have created a specially structured sur- con for next year alone. We thus feel we are generation. We are going to be seeing a large face which catches more photons. equipped to face the rising demand. number of demonstration projects with re- newable energies in the near future. If just S&WE: What efficiency can you reach? S&WE: Are long-term delivery contracts real- the hundred largest cities and towns in Stokes: The technology, in the first phase of ly the wisest choice? At the moment the situ- ­China installed a 10 MW system each, we commercialisation, is already achieving ation may be chaotic, but overcapacities would already have a gigawatt market. That 18 % to 19 % conversion efficiency on mono- could soon bring prices for solar silicon could happen pretty quickly. crystalline photovoltaic cells and close to down. You won’t be able to follow such de- 17 % conversion efficiency on multi-crystal- velopments with such fixed purchasing con- S&WE: Is this also true for rural electrifica- line PV cells in mass production, well above ditions. tion in China? conventional screen-printed crystalline PV Stokes: We will have to reach grid parity Stokes: There are government programmes cells. through sinking prices very soon if we want which will lead to grid-independent systems to effectively combat climate change. We of approx. 150 MW in the next few years. We S&WE: What about costs? At what price can have agreed the prices in our contracts in are involved in this with the large product you supply these high-efficiency cells? such a way that we will comfortably be able to range which we are able to supply. Stokes: We felt it was important to increase reach this target. I would also like to add that the efficiency without increasing the produc- we don’t believe there will be a considerable S&WE: You have also been active personally tion costs. We are thus not trying to manu- overproduction of solar silicon. The demand in Africa. How can one envisage PV develop- facture golden cells. The costs per watt are is too high for that and it is continuing to rise. ment there? the same; the efficiency of modules made Stokes: We can’t sell modules at African mar- using these cells will increase by 10 %, how- S&WE: Achieving a breakthrough with photo- kets. Our main task is to supply reliable mod- ever. This is the advantage for installers; the voltaics won’t come about just through lower ules at sensible prices. We may not be doing high-power modules will lower the relative silicon prices, though. a billion in turnover there, but we do have a system costs per watt. Stokes: Certainly not, indeed. There are addi- long-term vision. A partnership network is tionally the effects which large-scale produc- part of this. Our partners are working on get- S&WE: How do you view the PV world market tion will have. We need a gigawatt factory, ting the indigenous population used to solar in general? and technologically we need to increase the energy as a first step. Stokes: Demand is rising dramatically. The conversion efficiency. The interview was conducted by Jörn Iken.

36 Sun & Wind Energy 1/2009 „Demand is rising dramatically“

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