China’s Top Solar Firm Makes Switch From Silver to Copper
(Bloomberg) -- China’s biggest solar maker has begun producing cells that replace silver with copper, in response to soaring prices of the precious metal that have rattled the industry since last year.
Longi Green Energy Technology Co.’s facility in Shaanxi province is now operational, marking “a key milestone in the large-scale implementation of its next-generation cell technology,” the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The move follows a spike in silver prices to a record above $121 an ounce in January, nearly triple their level of a year earlier, on a confluence of bullish factors. As one of the world’s largest consumers of the metal, accounting for 17% of global demand last year, the solar industry has been racing to cut costs by turning to alternatives.
Copper, like silver, is prized for its conductivity. And while silver has now retreated below $60 an ounce, the red metal, which has even wider applications in the energy transition, has forged its own all-time highs, climbing above $14,000 a ton in May.
As well as bullish forecasts for demand, the copper market is reacting to a shortage of ore worldwide, highlighting the potential pitfalls of switching materials when prices are so volatile.
Longi said it was able to get its new plant up and running within three months and that the Alloy Contact Matrix cells it produces are more efficient.
But the launch of the new facility still represents an expansion in a sector already struggling with persistent overcapacity and heavy losses. The industry’s efforts to curb excess supply have had only a limited effect, and authorities recently imposed tighter product standards in a bid to improve energy use and efficiency.
On the Wire
China’s reflationary momentum showed signs of stalling in June, a reminder that the outlook for domestic prices is fragile as the economy emerges from deflation after an easing of tensions over Iran led to a pullback in commodity costs.
China’s central bank acknowledged the economy is becoming more unbalanced as the boom in artificial intelligence deepens a divide in growth between sectors, though it largely reiterated its existing policy stance.
China’s export-driven industrial momentum likely failed to offset weak domestic demand in the second quarter, said Bloomberg Economics, which sees GDP growth slipping below the low end of its 4.5%–5.0% target for 2026.
China purchased the largest amount of US soybeans since November, extending a wave of buying as agricultural trade between the world’s two largest economies gathers pace.
This Week’s Diary
(All times Beijing)
Thursday, July 9
- China’s inflation data for June, 09:30
- China to release June aggregate finance & money supply data by July 15
- Asia Climate Summit in HK, day 3
- Shanghai Platinum Week in Suzhou
Friday, July 10
- China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- SHFE’s weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
- China’s monthly CASDE crop supply-demand report
- Shanghai Platinum Week in Suzhou
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