Analysis of the Photovoltaic Industry Chain

The photovoltaic industry chain encompasses the entire upstream and downstream production of photovoltaic power generation equipment. First, silicon is mined from silicon ore, refined into pure silicon material, then made into silicon wafers, and finally cut.
The cut silicon wafers are then printed with lines and made into solar cells. The cells are then assembled, film-coated, and protected with glass covers. At this point, electricity is actually generated, but the generated power is direct current , so an inverter is required to convert it into AC.
1. Silicon-Based Raw Material Preparation
Silicon material is the link in the photovoltaic industry chain with the highest technical and financial barriers, rigid production capacity, and the longest expansion and ramp-up cycles, resulting in a certain degree of monopoly.

 

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The main research and development focus of silicon material is to obtain higher-purity silicon material at a lower cost. The current mainstream production method is a modified Siemens process. The core equipment for extracting silicon material includes a cold hydrogenation reactor and a reduction furnace. 2. Core Processes of Silicon Wafer Manufacturing
a. Monocrystalline silicon wafers: Silicon ingots with an ordered atomic structure are formed through precise temperature control and then cut into wafers using diamond wires. They offer leading photovoltaic conversion efficiency.
b. Multicrystalline silicon wafers: Produced using a melt-casting method, they are less expensive but suffer from lattice defects, resulting in lower slicing losses and lower efficiency than monocrystalline wafers.
Although multicrystalline silicon is cheaper to produce, monocrystalline silicon still offers superior performance due to its lower photovoltaic conversion efficiency and shorter lifespan.
3. Cell Technology Iterations
After the silicon wafer comes the cell. Only when these cells are made can photovoltaic conversion take place. Monocrystalline silicon wafers are made into monocrystalline cells, while multicrystalline silicon wafers are made into multicrystalline cells. Cell manufacturing technology is highly standardized, with low barriers to entry and high homogeneity. Relying primarily on capital expenditures for equipment, the barriers to entry are relatively low. Consequently, within the entire photovoltaic industry chain, cell gross profit margins are relatively low, resulting in a large number of participating manufacturers and a relatively dispersed market share.
4. Modules
Finally, the module stage involves assembling the finished cells. Monocrystalline cells are assembled into monocrystalline modules, and polycrystalline cells into polycrystalline modules. While module production barriers are relatively low, the final product generates the most revenue from branding and sales channels.

One factor that could significantly change the future is the emergence of alternatives to silicon. Currently, the raw material for the photovoltaic industry chain is silicon, but perovskites are now emerging as a raw material, surpassing silicon in efficiency and cost. If perovskites mature and perovskite cells replace silicon cells, the entire photovoltaic industry chain will undergo a dramatic transformation.