The hottest photovoltaic glass needs extensive tec

Photovoltaic glass has a wide demand for technology and cost competition upgrading

green energy group of Guohai Securities Research Institute

photovoltaic glass is the auxiliary material with the largest cost proportion in solar cells, mainly including ultra white calendered glass for crystalline silicon cells and TCO glass for thin-film cells. The rapid development of photovoltaic industry will drive the growth of related auxiliary material industry

ultra white calendered glass: the shortage of supply will alleviate

ultra white calendered glass is the cover glass used for crystalline silicon batteries. Its iron content must be much lower than that of ordinary float glass with a large stroke tensile testing machine, and the sunlight transmittance can reach 90%-92%. By tempering and plating antireflection film on the original glass, the strength and light transmittance of the glass can also be increased, and the conversion efficiency of the battery can be improved

iSuppli, a market research company, predicts that the global PV installed capacity will reach 22.2gw in 2011. We believe that the European market is gradually becoming market driven, the Chinese market is about to start, and the actual installed capacity of photovoltaic may be much higher than expected. It is conservatively estimated that the output of solar cells in China accounts for 55% of the world, of which crystalline silicon cells account for 90%. In 2011, the output of crystalline silicon cells in China was about 11gw. According to the power of crystalline silicon battery of about 130W per square meter, the demand for ultra white calendered glass in China was 8 in 2011, and the large-scale utilization in China has just begun to reach 5million square meters

in terms of supply, there are about a dozen domestic enterprises with relatively mature technology. Due to the explosion of photovoltaic demand in Europe in 2010, the domestic ultra white calendered glass was in short supply, and the glass price once rose to 70 yuan per square meter, and the gross profit margin of many enterprises exceeded 55%. Stimulated by high profits, Capacity expansion of domestic manufacturers "I don't want to make a statement. Chen Yanjian's enthusiasm is high. According to incomplete statistics, at present, there are about 28 planned ultra white calendering glass production lines in China, with a design scale of 5340 tons per day, and 2400 tons per day have been put into production by the end of 2010. The standard 3.2mm ultra white calendered glass is about 77 tons, corresponding to 10000 square meters. Based on the industry's annual average 310 days of operation and 55% yield, in the second half of 2011 or 2012, with the planning The daily production capacity of 5340 tons will be put into operation, and the annual output will reach about 120 million square meters. The shortage of ultra white calendered glass will be gradually alleviated. The myth of windfall profits of glass will not continue, and the decline of gross profit margin of the industry is an inevitable trend. Under price competition, leading enterprises with larger scale and better cost control have more competitive advantages

tco glass: the technical threshold ensures high profit rate

tco glass (coated glass) is made by plating transparent conductive oxide film on the surface of ultra white float glass by physical or chemical methods. It is estimated that in 2011, thin-film solar cells account for 18% of the global battery production, with a production of more than 4gw. If all TCO glass is used, the global demand for TCO glass in 2011 is about 67million square meters based on the use of about 1 square meter of TCO glass per 60W. With the promotion of domestic BIPV and the further maturity of amorphous silicon technology and CIGS technology, domestic thin-film batteries are facing the second wave of rapid development, and the domestic market space of TCO glass is also quite large

however, due to the strict requirements of TCO glass on light transmittance, thickness, conductivity and other indicators, and the high threshold of production technology, at present, the TCO process is mainly in the hands of overseas companies. In addition, due to technical difficulties and high investment costs, TCO coating equipment is monopolized by a few manufacturers such as the United States, and few domestic manufacturers are involved in TCO glass production. Except that CSG's 460000 square meter TCO production line was successfully mass produced in March 2010, and AVIC Sanxin (002163, Guba) TCO line was put into production in the first quarter of 2011, Bengbu Glass, Xinyi, Zhongke, etc. only stayed in the stage of experiment or commissioning production line. At present, domestic TCO glass is seriously in short supply. Domestic enterprises that have broken through the technical difficulties, with full orders, can enjoy the high profit margin of the industry brought by technical barriers for a long time

in the industry, generally, after the glass kiln is opened, it must be in full production. The output is relatively fixed. Under the fluctuation of demand, the price of glass fluctuates greatly. The supply and demand and cost of the industry mainly affect the profits of enterprises. The prices of raw materials are rising, and the requirements for cost control and technological improvement of enterprises are higher

the photovoltaic glass industry has broad demand, but domestic enterprises are facing some problems, such as too fast capacity construction, intensified industry competition, and some technical difficulties have not been broken through. The volatility of the industry makes the ultra-high profit margin impossible to continue for a long time. It is suggested to pay attention to leading enterprises with large scale and leading technology, such as CSG and AVIC Sanxin