"Competition is good, and innovation comes with competition."

These are the words of Zhu Gongshan, chairman of GCL Group, spoken during an exclusive interview with Yicai on the evening of August 24.

At present, the overall photovoltaic industry chain in China is complete, and is more dynamic than the photovoltaic industry ecosystems found in other countries.

As of 2021, China's module production has ranked first in the world for fifteen consecutive years, and its newly installed capacity has ranked first in the world for nine consecutive years.

China's photovoltaic industry is also facing some structural issues, such as the significant gap between upstream and downstream profitability.

This has also gotten the attention of policymakers.

On August 24, the General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the General Department of the National Energy Administration jointly issued a document promoting the synergistic development of the photovoltaic industry chain and supply chain.

It was in this context that Yicai interviewed Zhu Gongshan.

In addition to being the chairman of GCL Group, he is also the chairman of the Asian Photovoltaic Industry Association and the executive president of the Energy Storage and Electric Vehicle Branch of China.

How can China's photovoltaic industry move forward with steady growth over the long term?

Zhu Gongshan believes that fluctuations in the photovoltaic industry are unavoidable, and competition in the open market will promote innovation and industrial growth over the long term.

In the next decade, as the cost of raw materials and energy storage declines, the world will gradually enter the era of the market for new energies.

CBN: The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the General Office of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the General Department of the National Energy Administration jointly issued a document promoting the coordinated development of the photovoltaic industry chain and supply chain.

What do you think of the current surge in the price of silicon materials and the industry chain?

Zhu Gongshan: It's not just the photovoltaic industry. Any manufacturing industry will inevitably encounter ups and downs.

In the context of the market economy, only with market competition will we see the development of new technologies, new business forms and new models.

Photovoltaic companies must deal with ups and downs by stepping up their efforts at technological iteration and innovation.

Take granular silicon and the traditional Siemens method as an example. The traditional Siemens method consumes 60 kWh of power per kilogram, while the power consumption of granular silicon technology per kilogram is only 13 to 15 kWh.

Climate change is caused by carbon emissions. With the current energy shortage and climate change, GCL's main direction of development at present is to reduce carbon and energy consumption.

As a matter of fact, the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission issued a document just a couple of days ago, making two important points. One is to encourage end markets to purchase products with high technology content, and the second is to prioritize the purchase of products that reduce carbon and have the lowest carbon footprint.

From this, we can then deduce that the photovoltaic market is now in the stage of "survival of the fittest".

My advice is, don't "rush headlong into action" when investing in photovoltaics.

This is because the overall demand of the industry within a certain period of time is finite.

Photovoltaic companies should also not limit themselves to the Chinese market, but should also enter the international market.

Upstream costs will eventually come down as well.

Take wind power as an example. The (raw material costs of) wind turbines lie mainly in steel. Although the price of steel and iron went up over the last two years, by now it has dropped again.

Silicon is the main raw material used in solar energy. As the output of silicon material increases, supply and demand will gradually balance each other out, and the price of silicon materials will decline as a result.

It is possible that energy storage is the key to the next stage in the development of new energies.

For the photovoltaic industry, homogeneous competition is not a good thing.

I am not worried about competition. Competition is good, and innovation is the result of competition.

Technological iteration and innovation capabilities are very important. For individual industries and even entire countries, it is technology that drives the revolution of manufacturing materials and equipment, and the manufacturing revolution that drives the application revolution.

CBN: The global economy is currently facing a downturn. How will this affect the future development of the photovoltaic industry?

Zhu Gongshan: I think the only thing that won't be affected is the fact that the market for new energies will boom over the next 30 to 50 years.

New energies include wind, solar, storage, and electric vehicles, all of which are being used to replace traditional energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas.

The market potential is tremendous.

In the context of the "peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality" goals, the Chinese, European, American, and even the entire global market for new energies are undergoing reforms.

For example, in light of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, some countries are now seeking to produce more hydrogen energy.

A new global energy structure is taking shape, and only new energies are beneficial to the future.

We are now about to enter the era of the market for new energies.

In 2024~2025, with the dropping cost of silicon and energy storage, the era of the market for new energies will officially get underway. The prospects for the next 30~50 years are very promising.

CBN: Does the big photovoltaic market refer to the global market?

Zhu Gongshan: The big photovoltaic market refers to the global photovoltaic market. It is not limited to China.

At present, China's total installed capacity of electricity is about 24 trillion kWh , and is expected to reach about 55 trillion kWh by 2030. In other words, China's demand for electricity will more than double.

In the energy structure of the future, photovoltaics will play a more important role, replacing the dominant role of coal.

If coal continues to be the main energy source in the future, it will not be possible to achieve the "peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality" goals.

In the future, the cost of photovoltaic power generation will likely be less than 2 cents per kWh, but now the cost of power generation from coal is 5-6 cents per kWh. Which one is more marketable in terms of economy and cost?

CBN: How can Chinese companies go further in the global photovoltaic market?

Zhu Gongshan: The demand in China's photovoltaic industry comes from the global market.

The Chinese market is huge, but strategies for entering the European and American markets still need to be accelerated.

China's photovoltaic industry already ranks first in the world in terms of silicon materials, cells, and modules throughout the entire industrial chain.

In the future, the vitality and competitiveness of the photovoltaic manufacturing industry depends on "two major factors". One is total cost and cost performance, and the other is carbon footprint.

Given the iterative development of China's photovoltaic technology, costs continue to fall, and overall demand is seeing constant expansion.