DMEGC Solar says that its new cell manufacturing facility in Yibin, Sichuan province, will commence mass production of n-type TOPCon cells this month, with advanced automation, wireless data, and robotics. The module and cell manufacturer operates five production hubs across four Chinese provinces, with a cumulative shipment record exceeding 30 GW, including 14 GW of cells and 12 GW of modules distributed worldwide.

TCL Zhonghuan says it plans to generate CNY 13.8 billion ($1.92 billion) via a private share placement to build a 35 GW super-thin polysilicon wafer factory and a 25 GW n-type TOPCon cell plant in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. All solar cells produced at the factory will be supplied for Zhonghuan's PV module products.

Haitai Solar says it has canceled an investment deal in the city of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, for a 10 GW TOPCon cell factory, citing uncertainty over land-related concerns. Separately, it has signed an agreement with the city of Chuzhou, Anhui province, to construct the same 10 GW TOPCon cell factory, with the investment amount unchanged at CNY 5 billion (equivalent to $695 million).

India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to jointly develop electrical interconnections and low-carbon hydrogen. The Indian government said the two sides aim to establish a general framework for cooperation in the field of co-production of green/clean hydrogen and renewable energy.

Saudi Aramco and Denmark’s Topsoe have announced plans to demonstrate eREACT technology for blue hydrogen production. They will build a demonstration plant at the Shaybah Natural Gas Liquids recovery plant in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) will operate and demonstrate the world's first passenger hydrogen-powered train, the Coradia iLint, in Riyadh in October. The French train manufacturer, Alstom, will conduct this unique journey, with the train traveling 10 to 20 kilometers on Riyadh's East Network's Line 1 or Line 2.

Masdar has partnered with Boeing to advance the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in the United Arab Emirates and globally. SAF, produced from sources such as green hydrogen, can reduce carbon emissions by up to 85% compared to petroleum jet fuel.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has launched its new Hydrogen Headstart program, supporting large-scale hydrogen projects over a 10-year period. “AHC [Australian Hydrogen Council] called for the Federal Government to act quickly to ensure hydrogen projects in Australia have certainty in the face of fierce global market competition, and we are pleased they have recognised the urgency,” said Fiona Simon, CEO of the Australian Hydrogen Council. Expressions of Interest are now open, and will close 10 November 2023.

Repsol has started its 2.5 MW electrolyzer at the Petronor industrial center in Spain, supplying renewable hydrogen for industrial use, buses, and heavy vehicles.

Thyssenkrupp nucera and Neste have announced plans to incorporate a 120 MW water electrolyzer into Neste’s Porvoo refinery in Finland.

Rystad Energy says China may have another record year for new PV installations in 2023, driven by the addition of 150 GW of PV capacity. The company cites data from China’s National Energy Administration as showing CNY 134.9 billion ($15.8 billion) of investment in domestic PV construction in the first half of 2023 – the highest among all power generation sources. The Norwegian market research company also predicts 165 GW of potential installations in 2024 and 170 GW in 2025. It expects China's installed solar PV capacity to double over the next three years, from 500 GW in 2023 to 1,000 GW by the end of 2026. Yicong Zhu, senior renewables analyst at Rystad, attributes this anticipated growth to a “significant boost in large-scale projects” under a national program that was launched in June 2021. “Although most distributed PV systems are installed on rooftops, not all of them are used for residential purposes,” says Zhu. “Around two-thirds of the distributed PV capacity in China is utilized by the commercial and industrial sectors and these projects can vary from tens to more than 100 MW.”

GCL says that one of its subsidiaries, Henan GCL Energy Technology, has signed an investment agreement with the municipal government of Luohe, Henan province. The CNY 6 billion ($833 million) deal involves the construction of a lithium factory with a capacity of 100,000 tons.

Canadian Solar Inc. says will have 50.4 GW of ingot casting capacity and 60 GW of wafer cutting capacity by the end of 2024. It also expects to expand solar cell production to 70 GW and PV module production to 80 GW.

Mingyang Group has signed a CNY 10 billion investment agreement with the municipal authorities in Maanshan, Henan province. The wind power specialist says it plans to build a 10 GW heterojunction (HJT) solar cell and module factory in the city. In May 2021, Mingyang invested in 5 GW of HJT cell production capacity in Yancheng, Jiangsu province. It also set up a separate 2 GW HJT cell capacity factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong province.

Three Gorges Group has announced the results of its 2023 PV module framework centralized procurement exercise, with winning bids from JA Solar, Das Solar, Tongwei, Trina Solar, and JinkoSolar. JA Solar secured a contract to supply up to 3 GW of P-type 182 mm modules, with power outputs of 545Wp or higher. Tongwei has been chosen to supply 500 MW of P-type 210 mm panels, with power outputs of 660 Wp or higher. JinkoSolar a deal to supply N-type TOPCon panels, with 182 mm wafers or higher.

Xinyi Solar Holdings says it plans to issue ordinary and new shares, representing up to 10.00% of company shares, pending shareholder approval, as it shifts from the ChiNext Market to the main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. The company plans to allocate about 30% the funds for the fifth phase of investment in a solar glass production line in Melaka, Malaysia. It will use 25% for solar glass production in China's Yunnan province, and 15% to set up a solar glass production line in Jiangsu province. The remainder will be used as general working capital.

Trina Solar says it has decided to invest more than $200 million to build a new PV module production facility in Wilmer, Texas. The facility is expected to begin commercial operations in 2024. It will source polysilicon from unspecified locations throughout Europe and the United States.

Daqo New Energy says it has repurchased $301.7 million of shares, which is 43.1% of the $700 million share buyback plan it announced last year. The polysilicon manufacturer said the buyback program will run until the end of this year.

Golden Solar New Energy Technology Holdings says it has completed an initial production line for heterojunction back contact (HBC) cells with power conversion efficiencies above 27%. The integrated wafer and cell manufacturer did not disclose the total volume of the production line. It says it is now planning a 5 GW capacity expansion project. It will produce HBC flexible modules, but its overall vertical strategy will combine cast monocrystalline silicon wafers, HBC cells and flexible modules.

GCL Technology Holdings says it has purchased 15 million shares, worth HKD 20 million ($2.55 million), excluding commissions and other expenses, as part of its previously announced share repurchase program.

“Longi has a very clear view that in the next five to six years, back-contact cells will be the mainstream of crystalline silicon cells,” he said. “The high conversion efficiency of BC cells is the crown jewel of crystalline silicon technology, and the whole industry is ready now to pick this jewel.”

“The back-contact (BC) cell technology improves photoelectric conversion efficiency by shifting all the electrode grids on the front side to the back side of the cell, thus reducing the shading of the grids from sunlight.” Shen Wenzhong, secretary general of the Shanghai Solar Energy Association and Director of the Solar Energy Research Institute at Shanghai Jiaotong University, told pv magazine. “As a cell structure, BC technology can be combined with a variety of cell technologies to form back-contact based solar cells.”

In March, Longi launched its own hybrid passivated back contact (HPBC) tech. The company has yet to explain exactly what HPBC is, but it is believed to be an extension of p-type (positively doped silicon) IBC technology that combines the structural advantages of PERC, TOPCon, and IBC solar.

Robotechnik, a German PV production equipment manufacturer, has agreed to supply module maker Trina Solar with 40 GW of production lines. Trina said it will use the lines at its factories in Huaian, Yangzhou, Dongtai, and Tinghu, which are all in Jiangsu province. Robotechnik said the contract is worth CNY 358 million ($49.7 million).

Astronergy, a unit of Chint Group, has bought 15 GW of wafers from Huamin China under a three-year contract for around CNY 6.2 billion. Huamin China has secured three major wafer sales contracts since August. The total value of the three contracts is around CNY16 billion.

Guohua Energy Investment, a subsidiary of CHN Energy, has announced the results of its 2023 PV project module procurement tender. JinkoSolar secured 2,025 MW module capacity at prices ranging from CNY 1.225/W to CNY 1.230/W, with all panels exceeding 507 W  in output.

SAJ Electric, a Guangzhou-based inverter manufacturer, has submitted an initial public offering request to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company reported a turnover of CNY 1.55 billion in 2022, with sales of CNY 426 million in 2021 and CNY 716 million in 2022.

Cybrid Technologies has reported unaudited revenue of CNY 2.221 billion for the first half of 2023, down slightly from  CNY 2.258 billion over the same period last year. The company's net income for the first half of 2023 hit CNY 50.358 million, compared to CNY 175.154 million during the corresponding period in the preceding year.

GCL Technology Holdings Limited recorded CNY 20.945 billion of revenue in the first half of 2023, from CNY 14.775 billion in the same period last year, according to its unaudited results. It attributed the increase in sales to its solar materials division, as well as its growing granular silicon business. Its net profit attributable to shareholders stood at CNY 5.518 billion in the January-June period, down from CNY 7.062 billion in the first six months of 2022. The group said its production costs for granular silicon at its Leshan GCL site were approximately CNY 35.68/kg, which it claims is lower than the industry average.

CGN New Energy has released the bidding results for its 2023 centralized purchase plan. Its tender for a total of 12 GW solar inverters was shared by Huawei, Sungrow, and Sineng. Huawei secured 6 GW of orders with the highest bidding price, while Sungrow and Sineng evenly divided the remaining portion at a comparatively lower price. CGN set a 45-day delivery window from order confirmation for all products.

Flat Glass Group has revealed its financial results for the six-month period to June 30, 2023. It posted revenues of CNY 9.68 billion, up 32.50% from the same period a year earlier. Its net profit hit CNY 1.085 billion, up 8.25 from the first half of 2022.

Longi has announced updated wafer prices, with the price of its P-type M10 size wafers, measuring 150um in thickness, up 15.4% to CNY 3.38 each. This marks the first price increase since May. Industry analysts have attributed this increase to sustained high demand in the downstream market and tight supplies of M10 size P-type wafers.

Astronergy has entered into an agreement with the Wenzhou City government in Zhejiang province to construct an offshore floating PV farm near Wenzhou in the sea. The company's investment of CNY10 billion ($1.4 billion) will fuel the project. Commencing in 2024, the construction is strategically planned to unfold over three 2-year phases, with completion slated for 2030.

Tongwei, a manufacturer of polysilicon and panels, revealed intentions to expand its ingot, wafer, and cell capacity at its Leshan City facility in Sichuan province by a significant 16 GW. This expansion, valued at CNY10 billion, is aimed for full commissioning by the close of 2025.

Canadian Solar has reported solid financials for the second quarter, including $2.4 billion in revenue, an 18.6% gross margin, and a “record” quarterly net income of $170 million attributed to the parent company. This marked an increase from the previous year's $74 million for the same period. The group's CSI Solar shipped 8.2 GW of modules and successfully carried out an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, yielding about $975 million. The Recurrent Energy project business unit presented a substantial 25 GWp pipeline and a 52 GWh battery energy storage development pipeline. With plans to construct a 5 GW solar module manufacturing plant in the US, Canadian Solar's existing module capacity stands at 37.7 GW (annualized), complemented by cell and ingot capacities of 20.4 GW and 26 GW, respectively.

Molin, headquartered in Hong Kong, disclosed a new agreement with the Kyrgyz Republic government. The agreement outlines the construction of solar power plants with a collective capacity of 1.5 GW, necessitating a total investment of $1.2 billion.

The China National Energy Administration (NEA) has reported that new PV systems with an aggregate capacity of 18.74 GW were installed in the country in July alone. In the first seven months of this year, China added 97.16 GW of new PV power. Its cumulative installed PV capacity reached 491 GW at the end of July.

Module manufacturers Longi, Tongwei, Das Solar, Risen, Canadian Solar, and Astronergy announced last week they agreed on a size standard for rectangular wafers. The size is 182.2 mm x 191.6 mm, with a diagonal length of 262.5 mm.

Panel maker Trina Solar has started construction on a 50 GW wafer factory in Huaian, Jiangsu Province.

Jiangsu-based Sunrev Energy Technology (Sunrev) has started manufacturing activities at its 10 GW TOPCon cell factory in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province.

Xinte Energy reported unaudited revenue of CNY 17.58 billion ($2.46 billion) for the period ending 30 June 2023, an increase of 19.51% compared to the same period last year. Net profit of CNY 4.76 billion ($652 million) was attributable to shareholders of the listed company, which was 15.28% lower compared to the same period last year. The company noted that its polysilicon sales and production capacity were up in the first half, but 32% lower prices paid for polysilicon material dampened the polysilicon division’s profits.

Aiko Solar has achieved a first-half turnover of CNY 16.48 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 3.09%. Its net profit attributable to shareholders hit CNY 1.31 billion, up 120% from the same period a year earlier. Solar cell and module shipments for the first six months of the year totaled 18.7 GW.

TCL Zhonghuan is seeking to raise CNY 13.8 billion by issuing convertible bonds. It says it will use the funds to expand the capacity of its wafer factory to 35 GW and its TOPCon module manufacturing facility to 25 GW.

Huasun has commissioned 3 GW of bifacial heterojunction cell production lines at its factory in Xuancheng, Anhui province. The facility will produce 210 mm cells with an efficiency of 25.58%.

GCL System Integration (GCL SI) has commissioned a new 20 GW TOPCon solar cell factory in Wuhu, in China's Anhui province. The company will use the cells produced at the new facility for its two TOPCon module manufacturing facilities in China.

Longi says it has maintained the price of its p-type M10 wafers, with a thickness of 150 um, at CNY 2.93 ($o.41) each..

Aiko Solar says it plans to raise up to CNY 6 billion in a private placement of shares to finance its 15 GW solar cell factory in Yiwu, Zhejiang province. The facility will produce n-type all-back-contact (ABC) cells. The total investment is estimated at CNY 8.52 billion.

China Three Gorges Group has announced the results of its second-quarter solar module procurement exercise. Tongwei, Das Solar, and Chint’s unit Astronergy won, with the lowest bid reaching CNY 1.301/W. All bids were for modules with outputs above 545 W and their combined capacity reached 2.25 GW. Tongwei and Chint offered CNY 1.301/W and CNY 1.302/W, respectively, while Das Solar submitted a bid of CNY 1.345/W.

GCL System Integration (GCL SI) says that it intends to raise up to CNY 5.8 billion via a private placement. The company will use CNY 3.4 billion for its 20 GW solar cell (TOPCon) capacity program in Wuhu, Anhui province, and CNY 800 million for the expansion of its 10 GWh smart energy storage system capacity in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province. It will also use CNY 1.6 billion for working capital.

The NEA says China's cumulative installed PV capacity reached 470 GW at the end of June. In the first six months of this year, the country added 78.42 GW of new PV systems, with 17.2 GW deployed in June alone. New solar power installations hit 20.37 GW in the first two months of 2023, followed by 13.29 GW in March, 14.65 GW in April, and 12.9 GW in May.

The China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA) says that polysilicon production increased by 65% year on year in the first half to more than 600,000 tons, while silicon wafer production rose by 63% to 250 GW. Solar cell production jumped 62% to over 220 GW in the first six months of 2023, and PV module production surged by 60% year on year to about 200 GW. China also exported more than $29 billion of PV products, for a year-on-year increase of about 13%. Europe was the largest module market for Chinese exports and Asia was China's largest market for silicon wafers and solar cells.

Canadian Solar says that its majority-owned CSI Solar subsidiary has signed an agreement with the government of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, to invest CNY 11.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in a vertically integrated factory. The facility will produce 40 GW of ingots, 10 GW of wafers, 10 GW of cells, and 5 GW of modules. Ingot production is expected to start in March 2024, with the rest of the production lines to open in the second half of 2024.

The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association (CNMIA) says that polysilicon prices rose this week for the first time since February. N-type monocrystalline polysilicon prices currently stand at CNY 70,000 to CNY 82,000 per metric ton, up 2.01%. Prices for p-type monocrystalline polysilicon currently stand at roughly CNY 65,000/MW to CNY 76,000/MW, up 2.67%.