The photovoltaic industry is littered with corpses; over 150 photovoltaic companies have gone bankrupt, and the second half of the year will be even more brutal!

In June 2025, news sent shockwaves through the industry: Meyer Burger, a well-known Swiss photovoltaic company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States. Prior to this, its German subsidiary had also entered bankruptcy proceedings. This is not an isolated incident, but rather the latest example of the industry's "collective collapse" over the past two years. According to incomplete statistics, over 100 photovoltaic companies went bankrupt in 2024, and in the first half of 2025, another over 50 companies went into liquidation. In just one month, from May 25 to June 25, there were 18 companies that announced their departure.

From glory to decline, this industry, once hailed as the "green gold track," is undergoing a ruthless self-cleansing process. (If you find this helpful, please follow, like, and share with friends in need. Please point out any mistakes in the comments.)

I. Global photovoltaic companies have been collapsing one after another in the past two years: no one has been spared, from the top to the bottom.

Domestically, Dongying Photovoltaic Solar Energy Co., Ltd., a former state-owned enterprise, and its nine subsidiaries collectively went bankrupt on May 28, 2025, despite repeated government assistance. Earlier, Aikon Technology, once a leader in photovoltaic accessories, was forced to delist due to persistently low stock prices triggering the delisting threshold.

Financial reports show that the photovoltaic equipment industry's profits fell by 126.34% in 2024, with all listed companies suffering a combined loss of around 50 billion yuan. Even the financially strong first-tier companies are in this state, making the situation for second-tier manufacturers even more dire. No fewer than eight photovoltaic companies received ST warnings, and last year, ST Sunshine directly delisted. Even more alarming is that more than 70 photovoltaic projects were forced to be terminated or postponed throughout the year, involving hundreds of billions of yuan in funds.

The situation abroad is equally dire: SunPower, a leader in the US residential market, went bankrupt in 2024 and was later restructured; another leading company, Sunnova, is on the verge of bankruptcy; even microinverter leader Enphase, SolarEdge (among the top ten global shippers), and South Korea's Hanwha can only survive through large-scale layoffs.

 

II. Why has the industry plunged into winter overnight? The underlying reasons are far beyond imagination.

1. Severe overcapacity: From "blooming everywhere" to "losing money everywhere"

Data shows that as of 2025, China's annual production capacity in various aspects of photovoltaics exceeds 1100GW, while global market demand is estimated to be only 600GW, and Chinese demand is only 250GW, resulting in a huge supply-demand gap. Overcapacity has caused component prices to plummet from 2 yuan per watt to 0.6 yuan, directly eroding profit margins.

Even the once-booming leading companies have fallen into the abyss of losses: Longi Green Energy lost 8.6 billion yuan in 2024, Trina Solar lost 3.4 billion yuan, TCL Zhonghuan lost 9.8 billion yuan, and JA Solar lost 5.3 billion yuan...

2. Accelerated technological iteration: Fail to keep up, and you're out.

The technological update cycle in the photovoltaic industry has been drastically compressed, with new technologies such as HJT, perovskite, TOPCon, and tandem cells emerging one after another. Companies must continue to invest heavily in R&D, otherwise their product conversion efficiency and cost competitiveness will quickly lag behind.

3. Broken capital chains: Small businesses are the most vulnerable in the financing winter.

Continued industry losses have resulted in corporate debt-to-asset ratios often exceeding 70%. Bank credit has tightened, and the capital market has tightened its grip on photovoltaic IPOs. Some companies have had to resort to selling photovoltaic assets or restructuring to recover, but this is only a temporary solution.

Looking back at these fallen names, each one tells a story of the industry's helplessness.

SunPower: A veteran US residential photovoltaic leader, which went bankrupt in 2024 and was later restructured;

Suntech: Once the world's largest photovoltaic manufacturer, it initiated a second bankruptcy reorganization in 2025;

Aikon Technology: From the "first photovoltaic accessories stock" to delisting;

Yingli Green Energy: With a debt-to-asset ratio exceeding 92%, its equity was auctioned off by the court;

HRPV: Delisted due to financial fraud, and completely liquidated in June 2025.

Industry insiders estimate that in 2025, the loss rate of second- and third-tier companies may exceed 70%, and more companies will exit the market, with mergers and acquisitions becoming the main trend.

Behind this crisis is a deep reshuffling of the industry.

III. When will the industry return to rationality? How can it save itself?

In June 2025, the People's Daily published an article titled "Achieving High-Quality Development by Breaking Through "Involution-Style" Competition," directly addressing the industry's predicament: on the one hand, there is overcapacity in various aspects, while on the other hand, local governments are still desperately launching new projects, fueling disorderly expansion. To get out of the winter, the photovoltaic industry must eliminate backward production capacity, control the blind launch of new projects; continue to increase investment in technology, improve product added value; continuously explore emerging markets and diversified businesses (energy storage, green electricity trading, etc.); avoid vicious low-price competition; and reduce operation and maintenance costs through digitalization and intelligence.

Qiang Ge's concluding remarks

"When a whale falls, all things are born."
On the surface, this crisis is a tragedy; but from the essence of the industry, it is the inevitable survival of the fittest.

Some say, "Unless several major leading manufacturers die, the industry will not improve." While this is cruel, it is also a reality—the faster the industry is cleared out, the higher the possibility of restoring rational competition in the future.

But is that possible? When competitors fall one by one, who can guarantee that they won't be next?

Behind every fallen company are countless employees' jobs, investors' funds, and the shockwaves felt by the local industrial chain.

The road for photovoltaics is still long, and the future remains a major trend for new energy, but ultimately, only those companies with technological foundation, industrial determination, financial stability, and global capabilities will remain.

The storm is not over, but the winter will eventually pass—let us await the true rebirth of the industry.