Following the light! Suqian strides towards becoming a 'Photovoltaic Capital'!

From spacecraft to home appliances, from megawatt-level power stations to smart wearable devices… In the wave of clean energy development, crystalline silicon photovoltaics, with its high efficiency and stable photoelectric conversion capabilities, has become a shining star in the solar power generation field.

Seizing the opportunity and forging ahead. Since 2018, Suqian has actively integrated into the provincial crystalline silicon photovoltaic advantageous industrial chain construction, firmly pursuing the 'light', seizing new opportunities in green energy development, promoting high-quality development of the industrial chain through high-level planning, vigorous cultivation, and comprehensive innovation, and building Suqian into an important base for Jiangsu's vertically integrated photovoltaic industry.

Data shows that in 2023, Suqian's new energy industry, represented by crystalline silicon photovoltaics, achieved an output value of 1040 billion yuan, becoming the city's first industry to exceed 100 billion yuan in output value; in 2024, the "Yanchangsuhuai Photovoltaic Cluster" in which Suqian participated was successfully selected into the "2024 National Advanced Manufacturing Industry Cluster List", achieving Suqian's "breakthrough" in the field of national advanced manufacturing industry clusters.

High-level Layout, Inspiring Innovation Vitality

The author visited the production workshop of Zhengxin Photovoltaic Technology (Suqian) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhengxin Photovoltaic"), and a busy scene came into view. "Our production lines are compatible with TOPCon, BC, and HJT technical routes, ensuring that our products can perform optimally in various application scenarios." According to the relevant person in charge of the company, Zhengxin Photovoltaic, in conjunction with other leading enterprises, jointly innovated and developed AI identification technology and an intelligent production management system, resulting in a 20% increase in production efficiency and a 15% reduction in production costs.

Even more exciting is that, thanks to continuous investment in innovation, Zhengxin Photovoltaic jumped to 15th place in the global ranking of photovoltaic component manufacturers last year and was successfully selected into the "PVBL2024 Global Photovoltaic Brand Top 100" list. On this basis, the company will put into production 1GW of high-efficiency components and continue to promote the construction of the 10GW Phase II project.

This is a vivid portrayal of Suqian's innovation-driven rapid development of the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain. To date, the city's crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain has 64 large-scale enterprises, forming a relatively complete crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain with photovoltaic cells and components as the main products and silicon wafers and photovoltaic glass as auxiliary products.

In order to continuously stimulate the vitality of industrial innovation, Suqian adheres to high-level planning, focusing on high value-added links such as enterprise R&D, design, testing, and sales, strengthening government-enterprise docking, improving support policies, strengthening factor guarantees, optimizing supporting services, and comprehensively supporting enterprises' innovative development.

This "high-level layout" is also reflected in the strategic level of industrial chain cultivation. In 2022, the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government clearly proposed in the "Suqian City's 100 Billion-level Industry Attack Three-Year Action Plan (2023-2025)" to focus on cultivating the photovoltaic industry, through ten actions such as the introduction and construction of major projects, the cultivation of backbone enterprises, industrial collaborative development, and improvement of innovation capabilities, supporting the high-quality development of the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain with "real money".

In addition, Suqian has also scientifically compiled a recruitment map for the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain, accurately sorting out the list of key enterprises to be recruited in each link, and carrying out targeted recruitment around the needs of strengthening, supplementing, and extending the chain. Currently, a number of key enterprises in the industrial chain have been successfully introduced, such as Jiangsu Dongci New Energy, Jiangsu Ouya Lighting, and Suqian Jiangsong Technology, forming a good industrial collaborative innovation ecosystem.

High-level Breakthrough, Accelerating Technological Innovation

On both sides of Shanghai Road, the main thoroughfare in Suqian Economic Development Zone, are clustered hundreds-of-billions-of-yuan crystalline silicon photovoltaic enterprises such as Trina Solar (Suqian) Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Trina Solar"), Zhengxin Photovoltaic Technology (Suqian) Co., Ltd., and Suqian Canadian Solar Power Technology Co., Ltd., and these enterprises continue to exert efforts and jointly develop new products and technologies.

"We will actively seek new areas of cooperation with Suqian in the fields of new energy storage, green power generation and consumption, and make greater contributions to the high-quality development of Suqian's economy and society." This commitment was made by Gao Jifan, chairman of Trina Solar, during a visit to Suqian in February this year.

Trina Solar is the first hundreds-of-billions-of-yuan photovoltaic enterprise successfully introduced by Suqian and maintains a leading position in the field of perovskite crystalline silicon tandem technology. Not long ago, its independently developed 210mm perovskite crystalline silicon tandem solar cell achieved the highest cell efficiency of 31.1%, breaking the world record.

As Gao Jifan said, every achievement made by enterprises in innovation and development is inseparable from the nourishment of the local business environment. In 2024, Suqian issued "Several Policy Measures on Further Promoting the Construction of the Yangtze River Delta Advanced Manufacturing Base", strengthening technological innovation, promotion and application, and financial guarantees, comprehensively cultivating advantageous chain groups including the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain, and promoting high-level breakthroughs and high-end advancements in the industry.

In terms of financial support, Suqian innovatively implements industrial special support policies, providing rewards ranging from 100,000 yuan to 5 million yuan based on the innovative achievements of enterprises in new product and new technology R&D and the construction of major sci-tech platforms, supporting enterprises to "cultivate the big and nurture the strong", develop towards "specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and new", continuously promoting the landing and transformation of more new achievements and new technologies in our city, and promoting the development of the photovoltaic industry towards high-end and intelligent directions.

At the same time, Suqian continuously strengthens the effective connection between "government, production, academia, research, and application", encouraging colleges and universities, leading backbone enterprises, new R&D institutions, and R&D service enterprises to effectively integrate high-quality resources, conduct joint technological research, build national-level and provincial-level key laboratories or technological innovation centers and manufacturing innovation centers, and strive to overcome core technological bottlenecks hindering the development of the photovoltaic industry, accelerating the formation of a systematic and task-oriented collaborative innovation model.

High-efficiency Service, Optimizing the Innovation Ecosystem

During this year's National Two Sessions, the rectification of "involution" competition has become a hot topic, and the photovoltaic industry is a major disaster area for "involution" competition. However, this is not the case in Suqian, where industrial chain enterprises closely depend on collaborative innovation.

The author learned that Suqian insists on incorporating management into service, with government and enterprises working together to actively create a safe, open, and fair industrial development and innovation ecosystem, promoting the transformation and upgrading of Suqian's photovoltaic industry.

On the one hand, relevant city-level departments, according to the characteristics of the development of each link in the industrial chain, coordinate the allocation of element resources, scientifically plan and manage the local photovoltaic industry, reasonably guide the construction rhythm of the upstream and downstream of the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industry chain, make every effort to regulate market order, avoid malignant competition and market monopolies in the industry, and promote the personalized and differentiated steady development of various sectors of the photovoltaic industry.

On the other hand, for leading enterprises such as Zhengxin Photovoltaic and Trina Solar that play an important role in assisting in cultivating industrial clusters and building a healthy industrial ecological environment, relevant departments guide them to strengthen supply chain coordination and safety management, promote enterprise information exchange and sharing, and gradually form a benign competitive pattern of complementary advantages and collaborative development.

Cluster development and chain integration are the hallmarks of Suqian's photovoltaic industry development and are key factors in achieving a hundreds of billions level industry. Suqian adheres to the industrial development direction of "strengthening leading enterprises, supplementing the industrial chain, and clustering," vigorously implementing the "chain-long system," and deploying innovation chains, capital chains, and service chains. It has successively introduced chain-supplementary projects from multiple enterprises such as Suqian Huasheng Energy Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Xurixiang New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., and Suqian Taijing New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., in supporting segments such as photovoltaic glass, aluminum frames, films, and silver paste. This has formed a pattern of development where upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the industrial chain are interconnected, and large, medium, and small enterprises are integrated.

Gathering the chain to chase the "light," brilliant progress. Relevant officials from the Municipal Development and Reform Commission stated that they will further enhance the "combination punch" of attracting large and strong enterprises, collaborative innovation, and efficient services, accelerating the integration and fission of the crystalline silicon photovoltaic industrial chain and innovation chain, and rising a shining "photovoltaic capital" on the land of West Chu.