Aiko Solar announced recently that it plans to raise RMB 3.5 billion in a private placement of Class A shares. Excluding the transaction fee, the net proceeds of the share placement will be used to build production capacity in the Chinese city of Zhuhai and Yiwu. The company plans to add 6.5GW in Zhuhai and 10GW in Yiwu. The first phase of the latter project will add 2GW. Aiko is a major Chinese manufacturer of PV cells with production bases in the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang and Guangdong.                            

Proposed New Plant in Zhuhai Will Produce 6.5GW of Next-Generation High-Efficiency Cells Annually

Aiko currently plans to build a manufacturing plant with an annual production capacity of 6.5GW for N-type cells in Zhuhai. The total investment in this project is estimated to reach RMB 5.4 billion, and the construction of the plant is expected to be completed within one year. Aiko stated that RMB 2 billion from the upcoming share placement will be allocated to this project. The remaining amount will be met through other means of fundraising.

Proposed New Plant in Yiwu Will Produce 10GW of Next-Generation High-Efficiency Cells Annually

The construction of the proposed plant in Yiwu will be divided into multiple phases. The first phase will add 2GW and entail an investment of around RMB 1.7 billion. The Yiwu plant will basically deploy the same process technology and manufacture the same products as the Zhuhai plant. The first phase will also take one year to complete. Aiko intends to allocate RMB 600 million from the share placement to this project. The remainder will be met through other means.

N-type cells represent the next generation of cell technology and offer many advantages over PERC cells that are now mainstream in the global PV market. Compared with conventional products, N-type cells have higher conversion efficiency, lower temperature coefficient, and little to no risk of light-induced degradation. Because N-type cells inherently possess better surface quality, they can be made thinner and thus result in lower cost. With additional technologies for further raising conversion efficiency and power output, N-type cells will be able to break operational boundaries that constrain PERC cells and achieve grid parity for solar PV.

Finally, it should also be noted that the two proposed plants represent Aiko’s initial efforts in developing production capacity for N-type cells. The company’s current offerings are mostly limited to PERC cells.

Distribution of Proceeds from Aiko’s Proposed Share Placement