In recent years, driven by policy support, China's photovoltaic market has exploded, the cost of photovoltaic power generation has dropped rapidly, and the goal of user-side photovoltaic generation at a flat price has been gradually realized. The photovoltaic industry's technological innovation is an endogenous driving force for achieving this goal. Good graphene 'black technology' This material will make China's photovoltaic industry benefit endlessly.
Recently, Zhengxin Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as “Zhengxin Optoelectronics”) announced the first industrialization of graphene 'black technology' for photovoltaic modules. High-tech series such as graphene coating were unveiled for the first time. Compared to conventional components With graphene coating technology, the transmittance of graphene-based high-efficiency components is increased to 94.3%, and the output power of the components can be increased by 0.5% to 1%. Its unique self-cleaning function can also reduce the operation and maintenance costs. In fact, this is not China's first graphene industry line. Recently, the first production line of Shandong Hengli Tianneng New Material Technology Co., Ltd. ("Hengli Tianneng") solar energy project has also been put into production. 'The industry situation is excellent.' President of Zhengxin Optoelectronics Wang Yingchun believes that with China's innovation in graphene products and the gradual formation of industrial chain advantages, it will surely win the upper hand in the competition of high-tech industries.
Breakthrough in 'black technology'
In 2018, China's photovoltaic industry continued to show a steadily rising trend. The main direction of technological development is how to increase power generation efficiency and reduce costs. Graphene coating is an advanced technology that meets the technological development of the photovoltaic industry. Its unique feature is that it combines glass light transmittance with glass self-cleaning ability, and does not lose light transmittance due to self-cleaning properties. This provides a breakthrough technological solution for the photovoltaic industry. Graphene coating technology Also for the user to bring about the improvement of power generation efficiency and greatly reduce the cost of operation and maintenance. 'Zhongxin, general manager of Zhengxin photoelectric technology quality, said.
According to researcher Li Junfeng, former director of the National Strategy for Climate Change Research and International Cooperation Center, the unique self-cleaning capability of graphene coating technology allows end-users to harvest more power, reduce the cost of cleaning and maintenance of components, and reduce the hot-spot effect of components. risks of.
According to Wang Yingchun, Zhengxin Optoelectronics has developed graphene 12-gate conventional, graphene 12-gate dual-glass, graphene 5-gate conventional and double-glass graphene photovoltaic modules, and the company currently has preliminary production of 500MW graphene-coated glass components. Capacity, plans to further expand production capacity to 2GW by the end of this year, reaching 5GW by the end of 2019.
In the process of technological innovation, deep cooperation between industry, universities, and research institutes is the key to the rapid industrialization of advanced technologies. According to Dr. Lu Peng of China University of Science and Technology, graphene coated glass technology is the result of the cooperation between Zhengxin Optoelectronics and China University of Science and Technology. Graphene is a This kind of magical material has a very wide application prospect in the solar energy field. Glass coating technology is just one of the applications. It is also the first technology to realize industrialization application of graphene in the photovoltaic industry. In the future, both parties will also have glass on the back side of double-sided components. , In-depth cooperation on front glass double-sided coating and high-efficiency battery, etc., to develop more efficient photovoltaic new products with graphene as the core.
Lu Fang, the secretary general of the Photovoltaic Committee of the China Renewable Energy Society, suggested that Zhengxin Optoelectronics should continue to explore five aspects of the graphene coating technology: Optimize the coating formula, optimize the refractive index of the coating, and further increase the optical gain and component power. Researching the graphene coating process, working towards the formation of moth-eye structure, nano-structured graded index of refraction, preparation of better anti-reflection coatings; continued research on the performance of oxidation or reduction of graphene, improving super-hydrophilic self-cleaning performance Graphene modification enhances superhydrophobic properties, develops an easy-to-clean coating suitable for arid and dry areas, and researches technology that combines titanium photocatalysts to form a broader photocatalyst technology.
Photovoltaic industry 'self-adjustment'
China's photovoltaic industry has experienced ups and downs, a thrilling development process, and waves of sand. Some photovoltaic companies that started their business in the early days have now gone bankrupt or restructured or disappeared. The remaining companies can be regarded as leaders in the industry. Insiders pointed out that it is these leftovers. Photovoltaic companies are constantly doing innovative things to avoid the immense fate of simple imitations and blind expansionists.
The ultimate goal of photovoltaic technology progress is ultimately to reduce the cost of photovoltaic electricity generation. Therefore, with the curiosity of graphene and the 'question mark' of each one, the China Economic Herald reporter conducted an in-depth excavation. Unlike most of the society with graphene For some companies that are trendy but not industrialized, the new products that Zhengxin Optoelectronics is launching are mainly based on graphene-coated glass and multi-gate technology. This is a key indicator.
It is understood that photovoltaic glass self-cleaning technology is also currently available in the market, but it has not been popularized. The main reason for this is that self-cleaning of such technology is at the expense of glass transmittance, and the coating process of conventional glass needs to be compared. Large adjustment, immature process, unstable quality, and high cost. Zhengxin Optoelectronics' graphene coating process is not much different from conventional coated glass. It uses the aqueous phase system coating solution, which is more environmentally friendly and easy to promote. Zhengxin Photoelectric Graphite Epoxy coating glass transmittance of 94.3% or more, plate hardness greater than 3H, through the super hydrophilicity and photocatalytic effect of the double guarantee the glass's self-cleaning effect.
Multi-gate technology is an industry-recognized, cost-effective technology that can not only increase the power of components, but also greatly reduce the amount of silver paste, reduce the loss caused by cracking. Zhengxin photoelectric 12 main grid technology in battery graphic design , Component packaging and manufacturing processes and other aspects of innovation, the current in the fine grid conduction distance shortened, reducing the series resistance, cracking thermal resistance and efficiency attenuation, increased component power and life, but the overall production cost has not increased.
According to Wang Dong, on the basis of traditional single and double glass module production processes, Zhengxin Photoelectric Graphene multi-gate assembly will have existing multi-gate battery technology, graphene application technology PERC, N-type double-sided, black silicon battery process, etc. The integration of current cutting-edge technologies will add momentum to the industry's accelerated realization of cost reduction and efficiency gains.
Speeding up the process of industrialization
Not only has new graphene products landed one after another, its industrialization process is also accelerating. Recently, the first production line of Hengli Tianneng Solar Energy Project was put into production. This is the first fully automated industrialized graphene organic solar photovoltaic device (hereinafter referred to as 'Graphene OPV' production line. Under the background of the high quality utilization of graphene resources in Shandong, the industrialization and application of this new type of material has fallen again.
'The current bottleneck of the graphene industry is that it is difficult to mass produce, the price is high, resulting in insufficient supply of raw materials, and industrial production of downstream products is near blank. ' American Hengli International Holdings Limited (Hengli Tianneng Parent Company) China Executive Director Qian Dongwei frankly stated that graphene OPV is only the first step in Hengli Tianneng's industrial application. There are many directions in the application of downstream products in the future.
'For example, graphene RO reverse osmosis membranes can be used to increase the efficiency of seawater desalination, improve the effectiveness of wastewater treatment, and be used for the recovery of marine oil spills. ' Qian Dongwei said, 'The group's investment in water treatment projects has been related to domestic The port management department will cooperate to develop the graphene offshore oil spill recovery system.
The first fully automated mass production graphene OPV production line was introduced, which means that graphene products known as the 'king of gold' and 'king of new materials' that could not be mass produced have finally solved this worldwide problem. Graphene Its special physical structure and characteristics will bring about revolutionary changes in many fields. Once volume production will become the next trillion-dollar industry.
The price of graphene is very high. At present, the domestic price is above 2,000 yuan per gram, which is several times that of gold. On the other hand, China has more than 55 million tons of graphite ore reserves, accounting for around 77% of the world. : 'China's graphene technology has gradually taken the lead in the world. Both graphite raw material and graphene technology have absolute power to speak.'