Solar Module Super League (SMSL) member JA Solar is again aggressively expanding its manufacturing capacity, unveiling a new RMB3.5 billion (US$552 million) investment programme for new facilities.
Late last week, JA Solar said it intends to expand the company’s integrated capacity. New projects include 2.5GW of silicon wafer production capacity in Vietnam, 1.3GW of high-efficiency cell production capacity in Ningjin, Hebei province, China and 10GW of module auxiliary material production in Yiwu, China.
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The investment programme, which also includes the construction of a 200MW energy storage facility in Tuquan, China, is to cost a total of RMB3.455 billion.
On 8 February 2022, JA Solar said during an investor call that it currently has wafer manufacturing capacity of 1.5GW and module assembly capacity of 3.5GW in Vietnam. A further 3.5GW of cell production capacity remains under construction, which is expected to be put into production in the first half of 2022. There is additionally 1.5GW of cell capacity in Malaysia.
According to the plan, the company will continue to increase overseas integration capacity.
JA Solar said in November last year that it was actively preparing a pilot line of high-efficiency heterojunction cells, with trial production scheduled for late this year or early next year. A TOPCon pilot line is in trial production, and is expected to continue to grow in scale in preparation for large-scale manufacturing.
Since 2021, JA Solar has expanded its manufacturing capacity aggressively, investing RMB10 billion to establish 16GW of manufacturing facilities in Yangzhou, China; RMB5 billion in a 20GW silicon crystal pulling and slicing project in Baotou, China; RMB3.2 billion in additional facilities in Qujing, China, and a further RMB10 billion in the construction of a manufacturing base in Chaoyang.