Towards the Middle East Country | TCL Zhonghuan 20GW photovoltaic crystal wafer project signed contract with Saudi Arabia!

On the evening of October 17, TCL Central announced that it had signed a “Joint Development Agreement” with Vision Industries of Saudi Arabia to promote the joint construction of a crystal wafer project in Saudi Arabia. The target production capacity of the first phase is expected to be 20GW (gigawatts). Ayman Al Hazmi, CEO of Saudi Vision Industries, Shen Haoping, general manager of TCL Central, and Zhang Changxu, chief operating officer, attended the signing ceremony.

A milestone in TCL Zhonghuan’s globalization strategy

As the world’s leading photovoltaic material manufacturer, photovoltaic cell module supplier and smart photovoltaic solution service provider, TCL Zhonghuan has become an industry leader in terms of technology research and development and production capacity scale. At present, TCL Zhonghuan has formed significant differentiated competitive advantages in the fields of large-size, thin, and N-type silicon wafers by virtue of the deep integration of the G12 technology platform and the Industry 4.0 production line. As of the end of June 2023, TCL Zhonghuan’s crystal production capacity has reached 165GW, and its silicon wafer market share ranks first in the world. It is expected to reach 180GW by the end of 2023.

In 2022, TCL Zhonghuan proposed a development strategy of “implementing the global leadership strategy in photovoltaic materials and maintaining the world’s top 1 comprehensive strength”. Among them, the business globalization and industrial globalization strategies have become one of the important paths for the company to maintain global market competitiveness. In May this year, TCL Zhonghuan signed a cooperation terms list with Vision Industries, intending to jointly establish a joint venture and invest in the construction of a photovoltaic crystal wafer factory project in Saudi Arabia. The “Joint Development Agreement” signed by TCL Zhonghuan and Vision Industries this time stipulates that the target production capacity of the first phase of the project is 20GW. It has far-reaching significance for promoting the globalization strategy of TCL Zhonghuan’s new energy photovoltaic industry and will lay the foundation for TCL Zhonghuan’s new energy photovoltaic business. “External circulation” foundation and further enhance TCL Zhonghuan’s global market competitiveness.

Set a benchmark for China’s photovoltaic industry to “go overseas”

For a long time, China’s photovoltaic industry has always been in an absolute leading position globally. CPIA data shows that as of the end of 2022, my country’s global market shares of silicon materials, silicon wafers, cells, and components have reached 86.95%, 97.90%, 86.69%, and 80.80% respectively. In 2022, my country’s photovoltaic products will be exported to more than 200 countries and regions around the world, with export volume reaching US$51.25 billion, a year-on-year increase of 80.3%.

In recent years, Chinese photovoltaic companies have been gradually accelerating their “going overseas”. However, factors such as the supply chain system, production costs, and talent reserves have made it difficult for overseas production capacity projects to be truly implemented, especially the silicon wafer link, which is more technically difficult and has a larger investment scale. Therefore, the cooperation between TCL Zhonghuan and Vision Industries also provides support and reference for the global development of China’s photovoltaic industry.

Strong cooperation promotes global energy transformation

TCL Central Company and Vision Industries signed the “Joint Development Agreement” at the third “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Summit Forum being held in Beijing. At a time when the international green and low-carbon development trend is becoming more and more apparent, green energy has become an important area of cooperation in jointly building the “Belt and Road”, achieving the goals of “carbon neutrality” and “carbon peaking”, and coping with global climate change.

The cooperation between TCL Zhonghuan and Vision Industries is to make full use of TCL Zhonghuan’s advanced technology, advanced manufacturing and the rich regional resources and business layout of Vision Industries and its shareholders in energy, hydrogen energy, desalination and other fields to create global technology leadership and manufacturing flexibility. , a large-scale photovoltaic crystal wafer factory, actively exerting the “green leadership” of Chinese photovoltaic enterprises on the international platform, promoting the global development of China’s photovoltaic industry, and providing important information for the transformation of the global energy system and global green and low-carbon development. Helping to achieve the goals of “carbon peaking” and “carbon neutrality” and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

As a veritable “oil kingdom” and an economic power in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia’s economic development is highly dependent on oil revenue. However, due to the significant cyclical characteristics of international oil prices and the increasing maturity of clean energy technologies such as photovoltaics, the substitution trend of traditional energy sources such as oil is irreversible. Therefore, for Saudi Arabia, getting rid of its sole dependence on oil is a top priority. In April 2016, Saudi Arabia officially released the “Saudi Arabia Vision 2030″, which aims to achieve economic diversification and energy structure transformation to promote stable and sustained economic growth. According to Saudi Arabia’s plan, the share of natural gas and renewable energy will increase to about 50% by 2030, while reducing the use of liquid fuels. The TCL Central Saudi project will be implemented in the Middle East and will create Saudi Arabia’s first photovoltaic industry chain with world-leading technological advantages. It will further fill the gap in the middle and upper reaches of the photovoltaic industry chain in the Middle East and promote Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. Energy transformation in areas along the route.