Solar Cell (Photovoltaic) Equipment Industry Report, 2009

Due to the sharp drop in polysilicon price, most solar cell manufacturers have reduced the price, which led to a fall of most manufacturers’ earnings. However, as to the output, most of them keep it the same to 2008 or more.

A 25MW polysilicon solar cell production line calls for total investment of approximately RMB40 million to RMB50 million. According to the current competition conditions, it starts from 100MW in China, and the investment approximates RMB220 million, of which 70% goes to equipments. In particular, the capital for PECVD equipment is the highest, accounting for around 30% of equipment investment. In addition, a 25MW production line of amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells is in need of RMB450million to RMB500million of investment, of which 70% are for equipment, particularly PECVD with the highest proportion of 65-70%. In 2009, the global solar cell equipment market is sized by about US$4.96 billion, of which PECVD holds 33%.

Applied Materials Company is the overlord in the PECVD area, and it has great strength in the field of amorphous silicon thin-film solar cell equipments. It performed quite well in 2009, while other counterparts, except Manz adept in automation, have also made outstanding achievements. This shows still strong growth in solar cell sector.

China has the most solar cell manufacturers all over the world. Chinese solar cell equipment industry performs well in polysilicon solar cell, and it is endeavoring in the field of amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells. In the 10 most important equipments for solar cell production line, 8 types can be made in China, of which 6 ones (diffusion furnace, plasma etcher, cleaning/flocking machine, PSG equipment, and low-temperature drying oven) hold leading roles in production lines in China; and the rest two types (Tubular PECVD and Fast Sintering Furnace) coexist with the imported equipments and their shares keep increasing. However, automatic screen printer, automatic sorter, and flat PECVD are still dependent on import.