Q&A: Jinergy CEO Liyou Yang discusses the three steps to taking heterojunction manufacturing forward

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Liyou Yang, CEO at Jinergy, speaking at PV CellTech 2019.

As the technology continues to mature, the race to successfully commercialise and drive heterojunction (HJT) manufacturing to the multi-gigawatt level is getting increasingly competitive.

Jinergy, brought under the control of Chinese energy giant Jinneng at the end of last year, is among the frontrunners of that race. PV Tech spoke to chief executive officer Liyou Yang to determine what the remaining challenges are in relation to mass HJT manufacturing, and how close the industry may be to it.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

PV Tech: Before talking about technology, can you update us on your parent company’s new holding structure? How does this give Jinergy financial stability going forward?

Liyou Yang: Jinergy is now part of Jinneng Holding Group which is an energy giant in Shanxi Province formed at the end of last year (2020) by merging and consolidating five of the seven major state-owned energy companies. The total assets of the group are estimated at about US$167.6 billion, including 400 million tons of coal production and 38.15GW of installed electricity generation capacity.

Its major businesses are in coal, electricity – both coal-based and renewables – and equipment manufacturing.

Having the new and stronger Jinneng Holding Group as the parent company does provide Jinergy with not only more long-term financial stability, but more importantly the commitment for technology development and future growth.

Jinergy remains one of the Chinese frontrunners for HJT manufacturing. What do you see as the main challenges in moving this to the multi-GW level?

Jinergy has set three targets for HJT technology before moving it to GW level. These are for conversion efficiencies to reach over 24.5%, for it to cost less than 115% of the price of PERC, and for Capex requirements to fall to below 125% of those needed for PERC.

Jinergy has been steadily improving the average cell efficiency for mass production and by the end of 2020, the average cell efficiency had reached over 24.0%.

With more efforts spent on cost reduction, Jinergy also believes that we can reach the cost target in the very near future.

On the Capex front, more and more major equipment manufacturers from around the globe have joined in the effort to make specialised equipment for HJT with ever larger throughput and lower cost per GW.

So, we are very hopeful that we will be able to reach all three major targets in about two years, which will make HJT very competitive against PERC and most likely TOPCon as well.   

Jinergy’s overseas focus until now has been mainly on the Indian market. How do you see India moving forward over the next few years?

India is currently one of our major overseas markets. Over the past few years we’ve established a very good reputation among the major players and customers in India, and have shipped over 1GW modules to the country to date. Since India is still poised to do well in solar in the coming years, we believe we’ve earned the trust to ensure we can continue to serve the market well.

Jinergy’s high efficiency products are ideally suited for rooftop markets. Which countries outside China have the best potential for using these products?

Our high efficiency products have been shipped to Japan, Australia, Germany and Spain for rooftops. Markets like Europe, Japan, Australia have strong demand for high efficiency products because of limited space and high labour costs. Customers in these markets are more willing to select products with reliable performance and quality, such as HJT.

Jinergy was a sponsor of last year’s PV CellTech conference.

10 March 2026
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
October 6, 2025
Talon PV aims to be the first US company to safely manufacture TOPCon cells at scale, backed by European technology and a crucial First Solar licensing deal.
September 30, 2025
Chinese solar firm SoleFiori (Hongjun New Energy) has signed an agreement with the Saudi Arabian government to build a 6GW heterojunction technology (HJT) module production facility in the country.
September 26, 2025
The New South Wales (NSW) government has committed AU$28 million (US$18.3 million) to establish a new Renewables Manufacturing Hub in Blacktown, Western Sydney, Australia.
Premium
September 25, 2025
An anticipated uptick in US cell manufacturing presents opportunities for European PV tool producers, says RENA Technologies’ Michael Vees.
September 25, 2025
Inox Solar has started the first phase of commercial operations at a module manufacturing plant in Bavla, India.
September 24, 2025
Representatives from the EU, IEA and IRENA have signed an open letter to deliver a 'just and equitable energy transition'.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK