With global climate change leading to frequent extreme weather events, the safety of solar plants and the associated stable income of customers has become a serious concern for the industry at large.
To combat the impact of such extreme weather incidents, LONGi has leveraged its technological expertise to develop the Hi-MO 9 ‘Ice-Shield’ module, a global solution engineered to withstand extreme hailstorms. Through material innovation and structural upgrades, the product achieves breakthroughs in both hail resistance and power generation performance, establishing an impenetrable defence for both PV plant safety and returns on investment.
The Hi-MO 9 Ice-Shield module features a comprehensively thickened double-glass structure, its front glass 60% thicker than conventional products and undergoing full tempering, boosting impact resistance by 4.5 times. This material strategy, validated through R&D simulations (Fig. 4), ensures optimal hail resilience. The simulation shows that the front glass withstands twice the impact stress compared to the rear glass, which means front-glass strength is more critical from the design point of view. The frame utilizes high-strength 6005-T6 aluminium alloy with optimized linear density, significantly enhancing wind load resistance. When associated with a high-load mounting solution, the module withstands loads of +5400/-5400 Pa.
The module has also been exhaustively tested and can withstand the impact of hail with a diameter of 55 mm and speed of 33.9m/s, far exceeding IEC testing requirements. Post-test inspection showed no evidence of glass cracks or micro-cracks.
Built with this robust foundation, the module integrates LONGi’s proprietary HPBC 2.0 technology, achieving a conversion efficiency of up to 24.8% for outstanding overall power generation, and is upgraded with high-load materials to further ensure reliable high performance in harsh environments.
The Ice-Shield series module has been certified by international bodies including RETC, TÜV Rheinland and TÜV SÜD, with cumulative global orders for the product now exceeding 1GW.
