Photovoltaic glass is located in the middle reaches of photovoltaic industry chain. Due to the poor mechanical strength of crystalline silicon battery, electricity is easily oxidized and corroded by moisture and corrosive gases in the air, so its application in open air environment is greatly limited. Therefore, photovoltaic glass and backboard are usually used, and the battery is sealed in the middle by EVA film, which can protect the battery from oxidation and corrosion of gases such as moisture and oxygen. After that, the aluminum frame and junction box were installed, thus completing the packaging of solar (3.240, -0.06,-1.82%) battery modules, which can be divided into single glass modules and double glass modules according to the different materials on the back of the modules. Finally, the photovoltaic power generation system is formed with the inverter.
The production process of photovoltaic glass is divided into two stages. The first stage is the original film production stage. Firstly, quartz sand, soda ash, limestone, alumina, mirabilite and other raw materials are weighed by a mixer and mixed evenly in proportion. Then, the mixed raw materials are added into a kiln, heated to above 65,438+/-0,500 DEG C, melted and clarified to obtain glass liquid. Then, the glass is hydraulically stretched into a shaped glass ribbon. After that, the calendered hot glass plate is kept warm in an annealing kiln and slowly cooled to make the stress meet the cutting requirements. Finally, the glass is cut by slitter and transverse slitter as required, and the glass is broken along the transverse stress line by transverse slitter. If the quality monitoring is qualified, the first stage will be completed. The second stage is the deep processing stage. Firstly, the original glass plate is edged and chamfered safely by using an edge grinder. Then, after cleaning, the coating liquid is evenly coated on the glass with roll coater, and then it is put into a tempering furnace. Through rapid heating and rapid cooling, compressive stress is formed on the glass surface and tensile stress is formed inside, thus achieving the purpose of tempering. Finally, cleaning, quality monitoring and packaging are carried out to complete the whole production process.
Photovoltaic glass is mainly divided into ultra-white calendered glass and ultra-white float glass. The difference between them lies in the manufacturing process and application objects. Compared with ultra-white float glass, ultra-white calendered glass occupies a larger share in the global photovoltaic cell market because of its wider application range and higher light transmittance.
The photovoltaic glass industry has certain barriers to entry. Technically, photovoltaic glass requires high performance such as photovoltaic transmittance, mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, high temperature resistance, etc., and strict requirements are put forward for the production process of all links of photovoltaic glass manufacturing to ensure product quality and stability. At the same time, photovoltaic glass has higher requirements than ordinary glass in terms of materials, technology, kiln structure and operation control system, so it is difficult for ordinary glass production lines to be transformed into photovoltaic glass production lines, and it is also difficult for ordinary glass manufacturers to easily enter the photovoltaic glass market. In terms of scale, the scale effect of photovoltaic glass industry is very obvious. Large furnaces can reduce the consumption of tons of materials and fuel, improve production efficiency, and share depreciation and fixed costs. Generally speaking, the unit cost of 1000 tons/day production line is lower than 650 tons/day 10%-20%. In terms of capital, the initial investment of photovoltaic glass industry is relatively large, and generally it needs to invest 600-700 million yuan per thousand tons of production line. And the production line construction cycle is long, which takes 1-2 years. The payback period of investment is more than five years.
The trend of thinning and high transmittance is obvious. In recent years, photovoltaic glass industry has developed rapidly. At present, most specifications of the thickness of the front cover glass are 3.2 mm. According to the forecast of the photovoltaic industry association, the market share of the 3.2 mm front cover glass in 20 19 is about 67.50%. With the development of lightweight components and new technology, the thickness of cover glass will be thinner, and the market share of 3.2mm thick front cover glass will be continuously compressed. It is estimated that by 2025, the market share of 2.5mm front cover glass will become the first. The market share of other front cover glass thickness (below 2.0mm) will also increase rapidly. At the same time, due to the improvement of photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells 1%, the power generation cost will be reduced by 7%. In order to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency, the key point in photovoltaic glass is to improve the transmittance. At present, the average transmittance of photovoltaic glass in the industry is about 9 1.6%, which will be greatly improved in the future.
Second, domestic manufacturers have become the main force of global supply, and an oligopoly pattern has been formed.
(A) the sudden emergence of domestic manufacturers
Photovoltaic power generation has flourished and the prosperity of photovoltaic glass has rebounded. Photovoltaic glass is an indispensable part of photovoltaic modules, and its market demand is closely related to photovoltaic installed capacity. Under the background of global commitment to the development of clean energy, photovoltaic power generation is booming. Photovoltaic glass originated in Europe, and China manufacturers entered the photovoltaic glass industry after 2006. No matter from the international or domestic perspective, the market concentration of photovoltaic glass industry is very high. Globally, about 80% of photovoltaic modules in the world use photovoltaic glass made in China. Among them, Xinyi Solar and Follette (12.020, 0.39 and 3.35%) are in the first echelon, while Rainbow, Jin Xin and CSG are in the second echelon, with small production capacity and scale.
Domestic manufacturers lead the world. With the continuous introduction and research and development of technology by domestic manufacturers, the monopoly of foreign companies in photovoltaic glass industry has been gradually broken. At the same time, domestic manufacturers make full use of domestic cost advantages to reverse the situation that photovoltaic glass relies on imports and realize the transformation from relying on imports to replacing imports. Large domestic enterprises have also begun to set up factories abroad. By the end of 20 19, China has become the largest exporter of photovoltaic glass, accounting for more than 90% of the global output.
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