State-owned assets enter the market, photovoltaic industry takes off?

In recent years, under the dual pressure of cyclical adjustments and overcapacity in the photovoltaic industry, local state-owned assets have frequently acquired photovoltaic companies in distress, becoming a key player in industry reshuffling.

Recently, there are rumors that Zhejiang Energy is about to acquire Aikon. Aikon and Zhejiang Energy have had a good cooperative relationship. Aikon Technology once signed an agreement with Zhejiang Energy Power, agreeing that Zhejiang Energy Power intends to invest 300 million yuan to subscribe to the newly registered capital of Zhejiang Aikon Optoelectronics.

It is understood that Zhejiang Energy Group is currently the controlling shareholder of ZL Solar. Zhejiang Energy also has great ambitions in the new energy field. If it can acquire Aikon at a low price, it would be a good choice for both parties.

The entry of local state-owned assets is not an isolated case. According to incomplete statistics, since 2020, a total of 13 photovoltaic companies have been acquired by local state-owned assets.

Local state-owned assets provide emergency blood transfusion

The cyclical fluctuations and overcapacity of the photovoltaic industry are the core background for the entry of local state-owned assets.

Since 2022, the growth rate of global photovoltaic market demand has slowed down, coupled with accelerated technological iteration, the industry has entered a deep adjustment period. The rapid expansion of high-efficiency cell production capacity, represented by N-type technology, has led to a rapid devaluation of traditional P-type production lines, causing many companies to suffer losses.

After Maidi Technology's cross-border foray into photovoltaics resulted in continuous losses, it ultimately sold its 9GW battery project assets to Mianyang Anzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission; the 5GW component project built by Zhengye Technology with the support of Jingdezhen State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission was also forced to terminate due to market downturn. At this time, the intervention of local state-owned assets is both a "blood transfusion and emergency rescue" for enterprises and also carries the appeal of local industrial upgrading.

From the perspective of local state-owned assets, the acquisition of photovoltaic companies is mainly based on three motives:

First, to respond to the national "dual carbon" strategy, optimize the local energy structure by deploying the new energy industry. For example, after Tangshan State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission acquired Fengfan Co., Ltd., it promoted its expansion into overseas silicon wafer markets, helping the "steel city" achieve industrial transformation;

Second, taking advantage of the long industrial chain and high output value of the photovoltaic industry to cultivate new growth points for the local economy. Chuzhou has introduced leading enterprises such as Longi and JinkoSolar, forming a photovoltaic industrial cluster worth hundreds of billions of yuan, with an output value of 136.2 billion yuan in 2023;

Third, to alleviate the difficulties of local key enterprises and prevent job losses and tax revenue losses. For example, Qinghai state-owned assets acquired Chaori Solar, and Wuxi state-owned assets took over Suntech Power, all reflecting the high degree of binding between local interests and corporate development.

Acquisition strategic game upgrade

The union of local state-owned assets and photovoltaic companies presents a diversified model. In typical cases, there are both cross-provincial mergers and acquisitions for industrial layout, and technology-oriented strategic investments.

At the end of 2024, Xiamen Construction and Development Group successively acquired ST Zhongli and Suntech Power, intending to integrate component production capacity and downstream power station resources to build a synergistic effect of the entire photovoltaic industry chain; Shanghai Electric Group used Hengxi Photovoltaic to deploy 20GW of heterojunction battery production capacity, directly targeting the forefront of N-type technology.

Such acquisitions often have clear technological upgrading goals. For example, Runhai New Energy, established by Zhoushan State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and China Resources Power, focuses on the research and development of heterojunction batteries. In 2024, it has built a 3GW high-efficiency production line.

However, the entry of state-owned assets does not always achieve a win-win situation of "saving enterprises" and "transformation". Some cases have also exposed the risk of strategic mismatch: After Mianyang Anzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission took over Maidi Technology, the originally planned 9GW battery project was forced to be resold due to changes in the market environment; Yicheng New Energy, a subsidiary of Henan Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, divested the loss-making Pingmei Longi battery business, highlighting the limitations of state-owned assets in judging technological routes.

More controversial is that local protectionism may lead to the continuation of inefficient production capacity. For example, after Yancheng State-owned Assets increased its investment in Runyang Co., Ltd., it delayed Tongwei Co., Ltd.'s acquisition plan, which was questioned by the industry for prolonging the industry's clearing cycle.

Short-term relief and long-term challenges coexist

The intervention of local state-owned assets has provided photovoltaic companies with breathing room in the short term. Capital injection and credit endorsements have helped companies overcome liquidity crises. For example, after Zhejiang Energy Power took over ZL Solar, it promoted the breakthrough of its TOPCon battery efficiency to 26.7% and the steady ranking of its component shipments among the top in the world through policy-based financing and R&D collaboration; after Quzhou State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission acquired Yidao New Energy, it injected development confidence into this "photovoltaic dark horse" with a debt-to-asset ratio exceeding 86%.

In addition, the state-owned assets background helps to obtain local resources. For example, Tangkong Development Group helped Fengfan Co., Ltd. set up a subsidiary in Cambodia, quickly opening up the Southeast Asian market.

However, in the long run, excessive reliance on state-owned assets may distort market mechanisms. On the one hand, administrative intervention has delayed capacity clearing, and in 2024 alone, the number of listed photovoltaic equipment companies that have suffered losses exceeded the total of the previous three cycles; on the other hand, "policy-based acquisitions" may lead to technological path dependence.

Many local state-owned assets are flocking to the heterojunction technology, resulting in a planned production capacity of over 200GW in 2025, far exceeding market expectations. More alarmingly, some cross-border acquisitions have exposed shortcomings in collaboration: Haitian Co., Ltd. spent 500 million yuan to acquire Heraeus silver paste business, attempting to connect the water conservancy and photovoltaic material industry chains, but its customer resources and technological integration effects are yet to be verified.

The wave of local state-owned assets acquiring photovoltaic companies is essentially a collision between industrial policies and market laws. Against the backdrop of energy transformation, the entry of state-owned assets has injected stability into the industry, but we must also be wary of the path dependence of "emphasizing scale over efficiency".

In the future, local state-owned assets need to pay more attention to market-oriented operations: First, establish a technical evaluation mechanism to avoid blindly pursuing hot technologies; second, improve exit channels, achieve capital circulation through mixed ownership reform and asset securitization; third, strengthen regional coordination to avoid duplication of construction. The true breakthrough of the photovoltaic industry still relies on the dual driving force of technological innovation and demand reconstruction.