Solar photovoltaic industry trapped in the industrial chain (2)

Post-entry Strategy: The Breakthrough Road for Chinese Enterprises

If China's photovoltaic industry seeks development, it will have to optimize its industrial structure and optimize its industrial structure. It must rely on the enterprise as its entity. As the market's later entrants, China's PV companies mainly adopt three strategic models to optimize the layout of the industrial chain.

First, the capital-driven model. Some enterprises with strong capital strength carry a large amount of capital to enter the photovoltaic industry. They can take all-round attention and invest in multiple links simultaneously. In a relatively short period of time, they create a relatively complete photovoltaic industry chain and shape their competitiveness and resistance. Risk capacity. The enterprises that adopt this model are mostly within a certain traditional industry. They have already formed a superior strength, have stable cash flow, and provide photovoltaic business with mature business. Mainly represented by Baoding Tianwei Group and Shenzhen CSG Group.

Second, the cost-driven model. Although battery companies and component companies have the largest number of competitors and the lowest level of profits, for growth companies, this is the lowest barrier to entry in the photovoltaic industry. With this point of entry, we will gradually develop and seek upstream crystalline silicon materials and expand downstream system integration. This will provide companies with stable supply of raw materials and market demand. Most of the enterprises adopting this model are growing companies with photovoltaic business as their single main business, and lack traditional business support. Mainly represented by Wuxi Suntech and Changzhou Tianhe.

Third, process-driven model. The so-called "process-driven" refers to the process of manufacturing equipment from the crystalline silicon industry. Through trials and demonstrations of various types of industrial equipment such as single crystal furnaces, polycrystalline furnaces, and square cutting machines, small-scale production of silicon ingot silicon wafers is While selling equipment, through long-term process parameter accumulation, the company continued to increase product stability, and gradually expanded the scale of production capacity. From the experiment and demonstration of equipment to the large-scale production of silicon ingot wafers, the industry chain was extended from the top down. . Its biggest difference from the previous two models is that it cuts in from the minimum entrance on the side of the industrial chain. In the early stage, it has a relatively low requirement for the company's capital capabilities, and it is particularly suitable for traditional precision machining enterprises and realizes transformation on the basis of the original technology. China's two major manufacturers of crystal silicon industry equipment, Jiangsu Huasheng Tianlong and Beijing Jingyi Century, had previously belonged to traditional machinery processing companies. This model is mainly represented by Beijing Jingyi Group.

Overall, the characteristics of the three strategic models are compared as shown in the table below.

Therefore, the capital-driven model is applicable to companies with strong financial strength, at least one traditional advantage before entering the photovoltaic industry, and the ability to provide them with continuous capital supply, or with outstanding external financing capabilities and access to a substantial financing scale. The cost-driven model is applicable to enterprises with strong cost control capabilities and high capital utilization efficiency. The process-driven type is the most suitable for enterprises with the basis of precision machinery manufacturing, and through the introduction of high-end technical personnel, to achieve industrial transformation. Especially for risk aversion-based companies, this model can achieve utility sharing between photovoltaic industry equipment and traditional precision machinery and equipment, and can quickly complete product switching and reduce the negative impact of the external environment during the industry's turbulent period.

Although the starting point and development path of the three models are different, the premise is to focus on the integration of the industrial chain, improving the competitiveness of enterprises and the ability to resist risks. In the end, with the gradual and clear development of the medium and long-term development plan for renewable energy in China and the implementation of the on-grid tariff subsidy policy, China's photovoltaic industry has achieved the role of “two outsides” and “world factory” to “internally and externally” and “vertical”. Integrate the leap-forward development.