【行业研究报告】中国玻璃-Expansion of TCO glass capacity to capture the growth of advanced solar cell technologies

ChinaGlassheldaconferencecallyesterdaytoshareaboutthedevelopmentof
thenewTransparentConductiveOxides(TCO)coatedglassproductionline.Key
takeaways:(1)ChinaGlassTCOglasstechnologyandequipmentarein-house
developedwithcostadvantage;(2)ThenewTCOglassproductionlineinDongtai,
Jiangsu,isexpectedtostartproductdeliveryinApr;(3)ChinaGlassplansto
upgradeatotaloffiveTCOproductionlines(outoftheexisting14floatglass
productionlines),inordertocapturetheupcominggrowthofCdTe(碲化鎘),HJT
andPerovskitesolarcell(钙钛矿).Theannualcapacityisexpectedtoincrease
substantiallyto80mnsq.mfromthecurrentlevelof~18mn.Thismarksthe
transformationfromafloatglassmakertoanadvancedsolarglassprovider.We
believetheongoingCdTesolarcellcapacityexpansionbyCNBMGroup(parent
company)willtranslateintostrongdemandforChinaGlassproducts.
WhatisTCO?TCOprovidestherarefunctionalcombinationofbeing
electricallyconductivebutalsotransparent.Suchuniquesetoffeaturesmake
electricallyconductivebutalsotransparent.Suchuniquesetoffeaturesmake
themavailableforawiderangeofapplications,includingPVsolarcells.There
arethreemaintypesofTCO,namelyIndiumtinoxide(ITO),Aluminumdoped
zincoxide(AZO)andFluorinedopedtinoxide(FTO).Duetovarious
limitationsofITOandAZO,FTOisnowthemainsolutionforTCOglass.TCO
glassaccountsfor30%/40%oftheproductioncostofCdTesolar
cell/Perovskitesolarcell.
TCOglasscapacityontrack.ChinaGlasshastwoTCOglassproduction
linesatpresent,withdailymeltingcapacityof600t(Dongtai)and500t(Weihai).
Thetotalannualcapacityis~18mnsq.m.Dongtaiproductionlinejust
commencedoperationandproductdeliveryisexpectedtobeinApr.There
existsroomofde-bottlenecking.Forexample,theannualcapacityofDongtai
canpotentiallyincreasefromthecurrentlevelof10mnsq.mto15mnsq.mif
theyieldrateincreases.
StrongpotentialdemandfromCNBMGroup.CNBMGrouphasalready
steppedintothefieldofCdTesolarcellwithproductioncapacitieslocatedin
Chengdu,HandanandRuichang.MoreproductionbasesinHunan,
Heilongjiang,Sichuan,Henan,AnhuiandJiangsuareunderconstruction.The
TCOglassproducedbyChinaGlasswillbesoldtothesesolarcellcompanies
atthebeginningstage.ForPerovskitesolarcell,ChinaGlasshasalreadyin
talkswithGCLandHangzhouMicroquantaforcooperation.
Competitivecostlevel.ChinaGlasshasthecapabilitytoproducein-house
equipmentwiththemodulardesign.Besides,ChinaGlasshastheunique
technologytorecyclecertaincompoundsduringtheproductionprocess.All
thesehelpChinaGlasslowertheproductioncost.ChinaGlassisableto
achieveunitcostofRMB38-39/sq.matpresent,whiletheASPis~RMB56
(for3.2mmproduct).