LONGi calls for industry alignment on wafer size as Hi-MO4 sales top 2GW

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Hi-MO4 launch at Intersolar Europe 2019.

The solar industry must work together to agree on standardised larger wafer sizes, according to monocrystalline solar manufacturer LONGi Group.

The company has revealed that its H-MO4 module, which utilises M6 (166mm) wafers, has now sold 2GW. PV Tech understands European availability is expected in Q4 2019.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The firm is now backing that wafer size with a series of upgrades across its own facilities.

“By end 2020, LONGi will upgrade its existing cell and module lines and transform them for production with the 166mm wafer,” said Wang Yingge, executive assistant to the chairman of LONGi Solar. “New lines such as the 5GW monocrystalline cell line in Yinchuan will be designed for the 166mm size from the start,” said Yingge adding that large-scale production of Hi-MO4 will commence the third quarter of 2019.

Larger wafers create more efficient modules but also mean more weight and greater physical stresses. Production equipment must also be amended. According to LONGi, the divergence in larger wafer sizes began in 2018 and is leading to a number of mismatches along the supply chain.

“The 166mm wafer has reached the allowable limit of production equipment which is difficult to overcome. This would be the upper limit of the standard for a considerable period,” said Professor Shen Wenzhong, Director, Solar Energy Research Institute of Shanghai Jiaotong University.

“If manufacturers cannot reach an agreement on a size standard, it will restrict the development of the whole industry,” said Li Zhenguo, president of the LONGi Group. 

Shen Wenzhong added: “Existing crystal drawing and slicing equipment are compatible with 166mm size silicon wafer. Production equipment for cell and module needs to be modified, though the costs are lower and easier to achieve. Calculated by “flux”, cell and module production lines using 166mm wafers will increase capacity by 13% as compared with the 156mm size.”

At present, M6 wafer have a price premium of RMB0.4 (US$0.057) compared to the M2 wafer but as scale increases beyond 2019, Yingge said this premium is set to halve.

Read Next

June 4, 2025
Chinese PV module manufacturer Haitai Solar has announced the termination of a 10GW TOPCon and the reallocation of investment to fund an Indonesian facility.
Sponsored
June 3, 2025
Tongwei Solar talks innovation, growth, sustainability and future technologies in the global solar PV sector.
Premium
June 2, 2025
Struggling Swiss solar manufacturer Meyer Burger has announced that its two German subsidiaries, including the owner of its solar cell manufacturing facility in Thalheim, are insolvent.
Premium
May 29, 2025
PV Talk: Global Solar Council CEO Sonia Dunlop tells Shreeyashi Ojha why the solar industry needs collective action to combat political and supply-chain disruption.
May 28, 2025
ISC Konstanz is working with US solar cell manufacturer Suniva on its 1GW silicon solar cell production facility in the state of Georgia.
Sponsored
May 28, 2025
Ben Willis speaks to Astronergy about its next-generation TOPCon offering and the advantages of its zero-busbar module design, both of which were on show at Intersolar 2025.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece