Since the beginning of this year, with the successive launch of 166mm, 182mm, 210mm and other large-size silicon wafers and the corresponding production capacity, downstream customers have continued to have strong demand for large-size crystalline silicon growth thermal fields. Leading photovoltaic module manufacturing companies have increased their purchases of photovoltaic thermal field system products. Benefiting from this, many Chinese manufacturers of carbon/carbon composite materials for single crystal silicon manufacturing thermal fields have performed well.
As an outstanding representative of China’s leading advanced carbon-matrix composite material supplier, HNJB Carbon Technology Group has a significant increase in demand for thermal field system products this year compared with the same period last year, and its performance is outstanding.
On October 22, HNJB disclosed its three-quarter report. The company’s revenue for the first three quarters of 2020 was 288 million yuan, an increase of 51.94% year-on-year; net profit was 114 million yuan, an increase of 61.79% year-on-year. Among them, the company achieved operating income of 103 million yuan in the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of 51.81%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 41 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 70.50%.
From 2017 to 2019, the gross profit margin of HNJB’s main business was 64.95%, 69.32%, and 62.30%, respectively. The gross profit margin remained at a high level higher than 50%, and the profitability was excellent.
HNJB’s main business is a series of products for the thermal field system of the single crystal drawing furnace. The thermal field system is the core component of photovoltaic crystal silicon manufacturing and has an important impact on the quality of crystal silicon. Carbon-based composite material single crystal drawing furnace thermal field system products, as an important part of the reduction of photovoltaic and semiconductor single crystal silicon rod manufacturing costs, have rapidly increased their share with the development of the single crystal market.
During the reporting period, the sales revenue of HNJB photovoltaic products accounted for more than 95% of operating revenue, all of which came from the thermal field system products. Its main customers include industry leaders such as Longi, Zhonghuan, JinkoSolar, JA Solar, etc. These companies basically occupy a major share of the global photovoltaic industry crystalline silicon market.
It is understood that in the early stage of the development of the photovoltaic industry, single crystal and polycrystalline system component materials mainly used imported high-purity and high-strength isostatic graphite, such as SGL and Toyo Carbon. In recent years, the capacity of single crystal silicon drawing furnaces has been rapidly expanded, and the thermal field system has also been rapidly developed. The thermal field has rapidly developed from 16 inches to 20 inches (1 inch = 25.4 mm) in 2011 to the current 26 inches and 28 inches. field.
As a brittle material, graphite can no longer meet the requirements of large thermal fields in terms of safety, and has begun to lag behind carbon-based composite materials in terms of economy. On the other hand, the rapid development of China’s advanced carbon-based composite material preparation technology has become another choice for reducing the cost of silicon crystal preparation and improving the quality of silicon crystals. It is gradually forming an upgrade of graphite material components in the crystalline silicon manufacturing thermal field system.
From the perspective of demand, due to the technological development and rapid product iteration of the photovoltaic industry and the semiconductor industry, the development of silicon wafers to high purity and large size has become the most basic trend. At the same time, higher requirements are placed on large-size silicon wafer preparation equipment. Advanced carbon-based composite materials have the advantages of higher strength, better heat resistance, and easier design and molding. They have been effectively replaced in photovoltaic crystalline silicon thermal field systems. With the development of silicon wafers to high purity and large size, the future market space will be broader.
Carbon-based composite material is a composite material with carbon as the matrix. The thermal field system refers to the special material used in the thermal field system in the single crystal drawing furnace. The thermal field system material crucible component is an important part of the single crystal silicon drawing. About 6-8 months, it is a “monthly fast-moving consumer product” and has continuous consumer demand. The continuous explosion of demand for monocrystalline silicon has driven the continued strong demand for upstream materials, and the current supply of products such as crucibles in the thermal field system is in short supply.
As the thermal field system has both incremental demand and stock replacement demand, it is estimated that the product space of photovoltaic thermal field system is expected to reach 11 billion yuan by 2025, which has the potential to double the market space compared to 2020.
In the face of demand for products that are in short supply, HNJB, whose capacity utilization rate has reached the upper limit, is accelerating the expansion of production capacity. According to the announcement, based on the existing production capacity of 200-250 tons, it will use raised funds and over-raised funds to invest in new annual production capacity. 550 tons of carbon/carbon composite materials can reach an annual production capacity of 750-800 tons after reaching production capacity.
In addition to HNJB, the SXZT Carbon Technology Group, which has just subscribed for A shares, is also quietly working hard. On the other hand, LONGi has also expanded to the upstream industry and established its own carbon-carbon materials. In the future, HNJB’s competition will also come from the extension of the industrial chain of downstream customers.
At present, LONGi has realized 70%-80% of self-produced carbon/carbon composite materials, and the cost is 60%-70% of that of external sources. Judging from the supply of HNJB in the past three years, LONGi’s purchases have indeed declined year by year. trend.
LONGi’s upstream extension may change the pattern of the industry in the future, depending on its positioning in the field, such as suppressing upstream material prices to meet its own production capacity needs.