SNEC 2023: QnSolar shifts from downstream EPC to major PV manufacturer

By PV Tech
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
QnSolar’s booth at SNEC 2023. Image: Solar Media.

Our series of exclusive interviews from SNEC 2023 in Shanghai, the biggest trade show in solar PV anywhere in the world, continues.

In an interview with PV Tech director David Evans, QnSolar chairman Stephen Cai outlines where the market is heading, and the company’s plans for today and the future.

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

Founded in 2013, and perhaps not yet a familiar name to the industry outside of China, QnSolar began as a developer focusing on the downstream market before adding its own manufacturing capabilities, as Stephen Cai explains. Within the next two years, QnSolar will reach 80GW annual cell production capacity and 30GW annual production of modules.

There was about a 50:50 split between P-type PERC and N-type TOPCon modules observed at SNEC this year, Cai says, but it seems possible demand for PERC will decrease in market share in the coming year or so.

QnSolar 585W N-TOPCon module at SNEC 2023 in Shanghai, May 2023. Image: Solar Media.
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
July 25, 2025
At the SNEC expo, Carrie Xiao took the temperature of the industry as it seeks a way out of cutthroat competition and squeezed margins.
Premium
July 25, 2025
Prices of products across various segments of China's PV industry chain—polysilicon, wafers, cells, modules—have begun to rise recently.
July 25, 2025
According to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the global levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) for solar PV reached US$0.043/kWh in 2024.
July 24, 2025
China has installed 14.36GW of solar PV in June 2025, down 85% from the previous month and also decreasing 38% from the same period in 2024.
July 23, 2025
A rise in global tariffs could impact solar PV and battery energy storage system (BESS) installations in the US and EU by up to 10% by 2035.
July 23, 2025
Australian solar PV module manufacturer Tindo Solar has partnered with UNSW to advance tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK