JinkoSolar has become the second major Chinese PV producer to drop “solar” from its name to reflect its evolving business activities.
The company’s board has approved a name change from its current full title, JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd., to Jinko Holdings Limited. The renaming follows a similar move by JA Solar earlier this year, which rebranded as “JA” to convey its broader clean energy business activities.
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Under the new moniker, which is still subject to shareholder approval next month, Jinko said it would operate through two “complementary engines of value creation”. The first encompasses the same integrated solar and energy storage activities that have been JinkoSolar’s core business focus to date.
The second main area of activity will be strategic investment in high-growth areas related to technological innovation, industrial upgrading and the energy transition. These will include areas such as artificial intelligence, renewable energy, advanced materials, quantum technology, commercial space and other frontier technologies, and builds on Jinko’s experience in solar and energy storage.
“The proposed new name reflects what the company has become, a holding company anchored in a world-class solar and energy storage business and building a second engine of value creation through strategic investment,” said Dimi Du, JinkoSolar’s newly appointed chief executive.
“Our strategic investment approach is disciplined and long-term oriented. Building on our established capabilities and industry insights in solar and energy storage, we are pursuing opportunities arising from the global energy transition while selectively investing in artificial intelligence and other frontier technologies. We believe these investments can broaden the company’s access to innovation, create potential synergies with our existing businesses and provide an additional source of long-term value creation for shareholders.”
The rebranding of first JA and now Jinko gives a clear indication of the measures China’s embattled PV manufacturers are pursuing to extricate themselves from the cycle of oversupply, price cuts and unprofitability that has characterised the industry for the past couple of years.
The shrinking margins Chinese PV producers have been able to command on their core products have prompted numerous efforts at reinvention, focused on innovation, diversification into adjacent areas, such as energy storage and other technologies, and repositioning as broader clean energy service providers.
Jinko’s most recent quarterly financial results revealed how difficult the pathway to renewed profitability is proving, with the company recording another quarter of falling module shipments and revenue.
