Hanmedia: "95% are Chinese products", South Korea's solar cell collapse!

On November 9, the South Korean media "Global Economy" published an article stating that five years ago, South Korean solar cells had a market share of 50% in the domestic market. Last year, this number fell to single digits for the first time, and Chinese solar cells accounted for more than 95% of the South Korean market.

South Korean solar cell and module manufacturers, including Hanwha Energy Q CELLS, have no place to stand in their home country.

Recent data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea shows that the market share of South Korean solar cells dropped from 50% in 2019 to 35% in 2021, 25% in 2023, and then plummeted to 4% last year.

At the same time, the market share of Chinese solar cells in South Korea rose from 38% in 2019 to 63% in 2021, 74% in 2023, and finally reached 95% last year.

This is the first time that the market share of South Korean solar cells has fallen to single digits. The wafers from the United States, Japan, and Singapore, which once dominated the South Korean solar market, had a market share of 11% in 2019, but they have virtually disappeared last year, with their market share dropping below 0.1%. Chinese wafers have completely taken over the South Korean market.

The production process of solar panels is as follows: polysilicon → ingot/slice → wafer → module. Among them, the wafer is the core component that converts sunlight into electricity. Compared with the components that require a lot of labor in the assembly process, the wafer is a technology-intensive component, and its quality depends on its efficiency in converting light energy into electrical energy.

Due to the aggressive influx of low-cost Chinese components, the domestic market share of South Korean solar cells has been declining, but Chinese products have even captured the wafer market, which means that competitiveness has exceeded price.

In fact, Hanwha Solutions' sales last year were 12.394 trillion won, but its operating loss reached 300.2 billion won. The renewable energy sector alone recorded an operating loss of 257.5 billion won, which seriously affected its core business.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1848311999265792/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.