As the world's largest photovoltaic exhibition, SNEC has long been hailed as a barometer of the PV industry's development. Unlike previous years, this year's exhibition highlights are no longer limited to power and conversion efficiency. The types of exhibits are becoming more diverse, application scenarios more segmented, and new products are emerging in abundance, each with distinct characteristics. With increasing maturity, China's PV products are shifting from homogenization to differentiation, and from conventional, single-function models to refined, customized solutions.
The bustling atmosphere of SNEC reflects the vitality of the PV industry and strengthens confidence in the global green energy transition.
Through determined innovation, China's PV industry is injecting certainty into an uncertain international market.
From June 13 to 15, the 17th SNEC PV+ International Solar Photovoltaic and Smart Energy (Shanghai) Exhibition 2024 was held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Covering over 380,000 square meters, it attracted more than 3,600 enterprises worldwide and over 500,000 registered visitors, with all three key indicators hitting record highs.
As the world's largest PV exhibition, SNEC has long been regarded as a bellwether for the industry. Against the backdrop of growing uncertainty in international markets, all sectors have paid close attention to the industry's trends this year. The vibrant SNEC not only showcases the vitality of the PV industry but also reinforces global confidence in the green energy transition.
Unlike previous years, this year's exhibition highlights extend beyond power and conversion efficiency. Exhibits are more diverse, application scenarios more specialized, and new products are emerging in profusion with distinct features. As the industry matures, China's PV products are moving from homogenization to differentiation, and from conventional, one-size-fits-all models to refined, customized solutions.
Technological innovation drives industrial development, and competition is the cornerstone of progress. With technological advancements, the PV industry will demonstrate greater value in the future, continuously injecting green momentum into the global energy transition and the achievement of climate goals.
I. Explosive Growth of Diverse Products and Unprecedented Popularity
In the first quarter of this year, China's PV industry maintained a high-growth trajectory. Data from the National Energy Administration shows that in the first three months, new grid-connected PV capacity reached 45.74 GW, a year-on-year increase of 36%; national PV power generation totaled 161.8 billion kWh, up 42% year-on-year.
High growth in demand and application has driven the rapid expansion of the PV industry, with a significant increase in the number of exhibitors and expanding coverage. This year's SNEC featured not only PV production equipment, materials, cells, application products, and modules but also dedicated booths for module transport panels and packaging boxes. Additionally, many enterprises showcased wind energy, energy storage, hydrogen energy, and other related products or solutions, forming new product chains and systems in combination with PV products to further expand application scenarios.
"Previously, many enterprises struggled to secure ideal booths. This year, the exhibition scale expanded to nearly 400,000 square meters, making it the world's largest PV industry exhibition venue," said Guan Weiyong, President of the Shanghai Federation of Industrial Economics and the Shanghai Federation of Economic Organizations.
Despite the larger venue, crowds remained dense. As early as 8 a.m. on the opening day, a large number of visitors queued outside the venue. Ms. Zhang, an exhibitor, told China Energy News*: "From the subway station to the exhibition hall, we queued at least three times—there were people everywhere."
The popularity is reflected not only in the exhibition area and visitor numbers but also in the significantly increased diversity of exhibits. Exhibitors showcased their best offerings, with continuous booth activities and new product launches creating a dazzling array. Enterprises displayed product series tailored to different scenarios.
For example, Yingli Energy launched its mascot "Yingli Panda" and, in conjunction with this, showcased N-type technology research results, including the latest Panda N-type land-sea-air series products and comprehensive Panda N-type technology solutions. These include the Panda "Ocean Star" series adapted to high-salt, high-humidity, and strong-wind marine environments, and the Panda "Desert Star" series suitable for "sandy, Gobi, and desert" areas.
Daheng Energy, with the theme "Pioneering the Full-Screen Era," launched full-screen colored modules. Canadian Solar exhibited floating marine modules and anti-dust modules. Jinneng Technology displayed modules with low attenuation, high efficiency, high reliability, and high power, categorized by performance characteristics.
"Since the beginning of this year, more and more customers have recognized the value of differentiated products," noted Chen Gang, Chairman of Aikosolar. Market demand has shifted, and the past habit of valuing homogeneous assets will change; products with higher added value will open up new markets. "Nowadays, PV applications are increasingly diverse. We provide the most suitable product solutions for specific end-use scenarios and price our products based on their value. Enterprises must continuously create new value to cultivate emerging markets."
II. Not Just Industrial Scale, but Technological Breakthroughs
"SNEC showcases the latest achievements in the global renewable energy sector. Technological innovation and rapid industrial development are my initial impressions," a Cambodian industry insider told *China Energy News*. "There has never been a more exciting time in the history of renewable energy. Issues that were seen as challenges and obstacles five years ago are no longer problems. The exhibition demonstrates China's speed in renewable energy."
Data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association shows that in 2023, the output value of China's PV manufacturing industry (excluding inverters) exceeded 1.75 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.1%. In 2023, China's polysilicon output exceeded 1.43 million tons, up 66.9% year-on-year; wafer output reached 622 GW, a 67.5% increase; cell output hit 545 GW, up 64.9%; and module output reached 499 GW, a 69.3% rise.
The development of the PV market is not solely about scale. Many interviewed enterprise executives told reporters that behind the rapid growth of China's PV industry lies not just expansion in scale but also exploration and breakthroughs in the "no-man's land" of global PV technology.
During the exhibition, LONGi announced a major breakthrough in its developed crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells. Certified by the European Solar Test Installation (ESTI), the cell's photoelectric conversion efficiency reached 34.6%, once again刷新ing the world record previously set by the LONGi team for crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem cells.
Sungrow announced the successful completion of the world's first large-scale combustion test of an energy storage system and released the *ArcDefender? Technical White Paper on DC Arc Fault in Energy Storage*. International certification body DNV awarded Sungrow the world's first large-scale combustion test certificate for energy storage systems. This marks the first time globally that a large-capacity energy storage prototype was used in a "live-fire" test, simulating real-world layouts.
Li Zhenguo, Founder and President of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., stated that even a 0.01% increase in conversion efficiency is significant. Research and development are crucial, and technological manufacturing leadership must be achieved. "This year, we launched the Tai Rui wafer, which can increase the efficiency of all-platform cells by approximately 0.1%—it's very rewarding."
Li Zhenguo further emphasized: "In the past, customers' demand was simply to receive deliveries. Now that delivery has become a task anyone can accomplish, customers are pursuing better performance and higher conversion efficiency. To promote the healthy development of the PV industry, we must adhere to technological innovation."
Industry insiders generally agree that changing customer demands have altered market supply and demand, reshaping the development logic of the PV industry, with accelerated iteration between old and new production capacities.
Chen Gang pointed out that the supply chain pursues dynamic balance. "Solving capacity issues essentially means cultivating better productivity. If the mainstream products on the market score 60 points, then a 61-point product is a better choice. With newer, more advanced capacities, outdated ones will naturally be eliminated. This is market law and market behavior."
III. Focus on Key Technologies, Anticipating New Value Creation
As the global green transition accelerates, the long-term positive fundamentals of China's PV industry will remain unchanged. Yang Liyou, General Manager of Jinneng Clean Energy Technology Co., Ltd., said: "Under the carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals, new energy is a key direction for traditional energy enterprises' transformation, and the prospects for new energy represented by PV remain broad."
Multiple industry analysis institutions predict that global PV installation scale is expected to reach approximately 500 GW this year. By 2030, global PV installed capacity will increase from 1,055 GW in 2022 to 5,457 GW.
Chen Gang stated: "Greater opportunities bring greater challenges. Demand drives our continuous innovation. Technological progress will undoubtedly bring tremendous changes to the industry. Previous projects like 'Pioneer' and 'Super Pioneer' drove significant advancements in PV technology. In the future, we can encourage the emergence of next-generation, higher-efficiency products through guidance. This requires enterprises to continuously create and demonstrate new value, helping the PV industry enter an era of refined operations."
Gao Jifan, Chairman of Trina Solar Co., Ltd., emphasized the need to fully encourage technological innovation and strengthen intellectual property protection. Innovation is key to developing new productive forces and the fundamental driver of the PV industry. Without severe penalties for intellectual property infringement, it will be impossible to achieve high-quality development oriented by innovation.
He also proposed that industry, academia, and research should collaborate on innovation; upstream and downstream sectors should develop in coordination to build a new ecosystem for industry collaboration. Efforts should be made to promote the establishment of a PV manufacturing industry innovation center, fully open the National Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology, and conduct industrial chain collaboration through open cooperation with domestic and global research institutions. Leading enterprises should collaborate with industrial chain partners, and global PV industries should pursue collaborative innovation and cooperation to achieve mutual progress in "new quality" and "high quality."
Zhang Xianli, Vice President of Sungrow's PV & Energy Storage Group, emphasized that "to forge iron, one must be strong oneself." For enterprises to gain a share of the market, they must continuously innovate technologically, replace outdated capacities with higher-end products. In this process, enterprises enhance their risk resistance while driving industry progress.
Zhuang Yan, President of Canadian Solar Inc., echoed this view: "At all times, we must enhance our capabilities. Leading enterprises should take responsibility, take initiative, improve their R&D, innovation, and service capabilities, and formulate practical and feasible sustainable development strategies. Only in this way can we survive and develop better, and jointly promote high-quality industry development. This is what Chinese enterprises must do in the face of a global market and complex international situations."
Zhu Gongshan, Chairman of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association and President of GCL Group, captured industry consensus: "Only breakthroughs in core technologies can expand the industry's upper limits. We will continue to solve problems and clear paths to maintain stable and sustainable growth in PV demand. I firmly believe this."
Source: China Energy News