The Great Demand for Photovoltaic Silver Paste in China Has Accelerated the Process of Its Localization

Photovoltaic silver paste belongs to a kind of electronic conductive paste, which is a mixture of high purity silver powder (conductive phase), glass oxide (bonding phase), organic resin organic solvent (organic carrier), after stirring, three roll rolling to form a uniform paste. Photovoltaic silver paste accounts for 87% of the total demand for silver paste. In the cost composition, silver powder to account for more than 95% of the cost, so the silver paste price and silver powder highly correlated. The photovoltaic silver paste applied to the front electrode of the battery, that is, the electrode in contact with the N-type region of the battery, is called positive silver; the photovoltaic silver paste applied to the negative electrode of the battery, that is, the electrode in contact with the P-type region, is called back-silver.

The upstream of the PV silver paste industry industry chain is the supply of raw materials for PV silver paste, mainly including silver powder, glass powder and organic carrier, among which silver powder has a greater impact on the performance of PV silver paste, with higher requirements for form and consistency, which is mainly monopolized by foreign enterprises. The midstream of the industry chain is the PV silver paste manufacturers. The downstream of the industry chain is the cell application, which is mainly used for P-type and N-type PV cells. At present, the global photovoltaic industry has good long-term development prospects and strong demand, which is conducive to the expansion of photovoltaic silver paste scale.

Source: Market Monitor Co., Limited

From 2016-2021, China\'s photovoltaic silver paste industry maintained overall growth. Data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association shows that China\'s PV silver paste consumption grows from 1,585 tons in 2016 to 3,074 tons in 2021, a compound annual growth rate of 11.69%, almost twice the growth of global PV silver paste demand. With the growth of PV cell production scale driven by PV installed demand and the production of N-type cells, China\'s PV silver paste market size is expected to reach 5358.18 tons by 2026.

Source: China Photovoltaic Industry Association, Market Monitor Co., Limited

China\'s domestic pastes started late, which were mainly imported in the early days. Benefit from the Chinese government\'s strong support for photovoltaic manufacturing in the past two years, and with the rise of China\'s photovoltaic manufacturing capacity and the rapid increase in market demand, silver paste on the localization process accelerated. Since 2017, the share of domestic silver paste has accelerated from 20% in 2017 to 35%-40% in 2018, and to about 50% in 2019. The market share of domestic paste is expected to continue to break through in the future.

Photovoltaic silver paste is the core auxiliary material of the cell, accounting for about 10% of the cost. The photovoltaic silver paste cost of the new generation of N-type HJT cells accounts for up to 24%. At present, the consumption of silver is mainly reduced by multi-main grid technology and reducing the width of fine grid. In 2020, the consumption of silver paste of N-type battery is significantly higher than that of P-type battery, and the consumption of HJT single silver paste is about 2.1 times of that of P-type battery. One of the reasons for the high cost of N-type batteries is the large amount of silver paste and its high price. In the future, as the market share of N-type battery continues to increase, the silver paste market will usher in rapid development opportunities.

For more industry information, please refer to the latest Global and Regional Photovoltaic Silver Paste Market Details Research Report 2021-2026 released by Market Monitor Co., Limited.
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