On December 27, GCL-Perovskite, a subsidiary of GCL Group, held the foundation stone-laying ceremony for the world's first gigawatt-scale perovskite module (size 1.2 × 2.4 meters) production base in Kunshan High-tech Zone, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, marking the official entry of GCL-Perovskite into a new era of gigawatt-scale business operations.
A real breakthrough and mutual success
"The start of construction of GCL-Perovskite's gigawatt-scale project marks a new starting point for GCL and Kunshan to work together and achieve mutual success." Sun Daoxun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Kunshan Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Kunshan High-tech Zone, remarked.
The groundbreaking ceremony officially began at 10:58 AM. Zhou Wei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Suzhou Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Kunshan Municipal Committee, Chen Liyan, Deputy Secretary of the Kunshan Municipal Committee and Mayor of Kunshan, Sun Daoxun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Kunshan Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Kunshan High-tech Zone, Qian Xudong, Vice Mayor of Kunshan, Kong Weihua, Deputy Director of the Administrative Committee of Kunshan High-tech Zone, Zhu Gongshan, Chairperson of GCL Group, and other leaders attended the ceremony to witness the arrival of a new era of third-generation solar cell technology.
Just 10 days ago, on December 18, in the presence of Liu Xiaotao, Member of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Suzhou Municipal Party Committee, and Zhu Gongshan, Chairperson of GCL Group, Kunshan Municipal People's Government and GCL Group held a strategic cooperation signing ceremony. The agreement states that Kunshan GCL Perovskite Materials Co., Ltd., will build a 2-gigawatt perovskite production line in Kunshan, which will be completed in two phases.
Zhu Gongshan asserted in his speech that GCL's gigawatt-scale perovskite project had fully realized the localization of technology, equipment, and materials. He stated that the project had independent intellectual property rights, was fully developed and manufactured in China, and represented the highest level of perovskite technology and commercial application worldwide. The start of construction for this project will inject warm energy into the PV industry's cold winter caused by involution and will surely foster a new spring of innovation and development in the industry.
Leading the way of next-generation solar cell
In 2021, GCL-Perovskite completed the world's first 100-megawatt perovskite pilot line, taking the lead in the industry by transitioning the size of perovskite modules from square centimeter to square meter, becoming the only PV perovskite technology company in the world with the capability to conduct product research and development with a commercial size of 1.2 × 2.4 meters. At present, Cathay Capital, Kunshan High-tech Zone, CATL, Tencent, IDG Capital, Sequoia China, Temasek Holdings, and other investment institutions have participated in multiple rounds of financing for GCL-Perovskite.
On November 23, the official test report issued by the National Institute of Metrology of China after authoritative certification showed that the 1 × 2-meter perovskite module launched by GCL-Perovskite broke the industry ceiling, with the photoelectric conversion efficiency reaching 18.04%, creating a new world record. In light of this, Fan Bin, Chairperson of GCL-Perovskite, believes that module efficiency of 18% is able to match that of existing cadmium telluride modules, which means that the door to mass production is really open.
In fact, in 2023, GCL-Perovskite set commercial modules as its research and development goal. GCL broke three world records in a row, achieving 18.04% (2 m²) efficiency for perovskite single-junction modules and 26.17% (1,032 cm²) and 26.34% (2,048 cm²) for laminated modules, which laid a solid foundation for the final breakthrough of 26% (2.88 m²), the critical point for commercial perovskite modules.
Industry analysts have noted that the construction of GCL-Perovskite's new base will provide the entity with a broader development space. In terms of product type, production capacity, size, and efficiency, it will move at full speed toward the goal of 1.2 × 2.4-meter module size and more than 26% module conversion efficiency, achieving a historical breakthrough in laminated perovskite modules and leading perovskite modules into the commercial era globally.
In April this year, on the eve of perovskite mass production, the Group of 7 (G7) Ministers' Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment issued a "Joint Statement" stating that it would "promote improvement in innovative technologies such as perovskite solar cells". Perovskite solar cells, a "rookie" in the energy field, have attracted great interest from all parties.
Perovskite cells are reported to be the third generation of solar cells. The industry has reached a consensus that they combine all the advantages of PV cells, especially the laminated "perovskite + crystalline silicon" design, which can further improve photoelectric conversion efficiency. Furthermore, the perovskite cell preparation process is shorter and consumes less energy than that of traditional crystalline silicon cells, leading to significant cost advantages. The maximum process temperature for perovskite module preparation does not exceed 150 degrees Celsius, the unit energy consumption is only one-tenth of that of crystalline silicon modules, and the unit capacity investment is only about half of that of crystalline silicon modules. In addition, due to their excellent properties, such as being lightweight and having low thickness, bendability, and translucency, perovskite PV modules have more application scenarios than crystalline silicon cells. They can be used as PV panels for ground-mounted solar power stations, as well as in scenarios such as BIPV curtain walls and electric vehicles.
"Starting from 2023, perovskite cell technology will officially enter the era of mass production." remarked Zhu Gongshan, Chairperson of GCL Group. He stated that once GCL crosses the most important threshold of mass production, large-scale perovskite will stride toward a new era of empirical application, marking the successful upgrade of GCL's PV raw material research and development and intelligent manufacturing.
