Jolywood

The Chinese manufacturer said that its new glass-backsheet Windproof module utilises a zinc-aluminum-magnesium surface alloy technology and a high-strength steel substrate. It features a power conversion efficiency of up to 23.03%.

Hard-pressed Asian solar manufacturers have switched from multi-layer polymer backsheets to a single layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), with a protective coating on both sides of their modules. Backsheet makers confirm these products, known as “CPC,” are now mainstream. There is little evidence to demonstrate that they can withstand 30 years-plus of outdoor use, however.

The China Academy of Metrology and Science has certified Jolywood’s 26.7% efficiency rating for an n-type tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell, which the company claims is a world record. In November 2022, it announced a 26.1% efficiency rating for a similar cell.

Jolywood has cancelled a plan to invest in solar cell and panel production in Indonesia, while Hangzhou First Applied Material has said that it will invest US$226 million (AU$324 million) in the expansion of its EVA film output capacity.

The past 12 months have been a turbulent time for PV manufacturing. Rapid and impressive developments in technology have been accompanied by price increases up and down the supply chain, and energy shortages weighed on production in the second half of the year. Chinese n-type module manufacturer Jolywood is now pressing ahead with ambitious expansion plans despite the disruption. pv magazine publisher Eckhart K. Gouras and editor Mark Hutchins recently caught up with Cathy Huang, European sales director at Jolywood, to discuss the company’s plans to bring n-type TOPCon technology into mainstream production.

The Chinese bifacial module maker has commissioned a 1.5 GW TOPCon cell factory in China’s Zhejiang province, which raised its total TOPCon cell capacity to 3.6 GW. Another 16 GW facility is being planned for the Shanxi province.

Solar manufacturer Jolywood, which supplied almost 500 MW of its bifacial tunnel oxide passivated contact panels for Oman’s Ibri II facility, has claimed the power plant is the biggest to date to deploy the high-efficiency technology.

Based on current market prices, the five-year contract could be worth almost $4 billion to the $1 billion company, but the TOPCon manufacturer has not publicised the price at which it will supply and install modules for its state-owned sponsor.

Chinese module manufacturer Jolywood is preparing to invest in a joint venture with state-controlled local partner PT Len Agra Energy to set up 1 GW of annual cell and panel capacity.

Enhanced module appearance and power output can be achieved by a smart cell interconnection technique Longi is employing in its Hi-MO5 module series. But as with all new technologies, there are potential pitfalls.