The market prospect of ultra-white embossed glass is good. In the future, ultra-white embossed glass will become a new variety of glass products that more glass companies pay attention to and fully develop.

 With the rapid development of science and technology, the use of glass products has become more and more extensive, and new products created by glass products as basic originals are constantly emerging. After we experienced the era of large-scale glass curtain wall, due to the increasing emphasis on environmental protection, energy conservation, and life safety, such as insulating glass, LOW-E insulating glass, and tempered glass, we are gradually replacing traditional glass originals. Enter people's lives. Faced with the increasingly fierce competition in the domestic glass market, in the future, the continuous development and introduction of high-end products and the search for product differentiation will become the main means for glass companies to gain advantages. Now, a new type of energy-saving product is emerging, it is a solar photovoltaic cell. One of the key components in the manufacture of solar photovoltaic cells is solar photovoltaic cell packaging glass. This new product has begun to attract more and more attention from glass companies, and has become one of the new high-tech glass products that many companies plan to compete for.

From the perspective of foreign companies producing such glass, one is Japan's Asahi Glass Co., Ltd., which has a technical capacity to produce ultra-white glass. It has a production plant for solar cell packaging glass in North America, mainly for the North American market. The other is the Pilkington Company in the UK, which has an ultra-white embossed glass production line in Australia, which is about 150-200 tons/day. Its domestic holding company, Shanghai Yaopi, has also seen that as part of the national energy strategy, the use of solar energy has become more and more widely recognized, and related industries are also rapidly developing as photovoltaic cells and solar water heaters. The market demand for ultra-white embossed glass substrates is also growing. Therefore, the company is also sparing no effort to carry out this work. It is planned to use the business opportunities of special glass matched with photovoltaic cells and solar water heaters to create new profit growth points for the company. Then there is the Saint-Gobain company in France. In addition to its production line in Nanjing and the second production line under construction, it also has an ultra-white embossed glass production line in Germany. From the production situation of these companies, the yield is generally not too high, probably between 50-70%.

At present, the process technology for producing solar-packaged battery glass is mainly calendering method, which is made by pressing a special pyramid-shaped pattern on the surface of ultra-white glass by using a special embossing roller. It is an indispensable component of solar photovoltaic cells. According to relevant predictions, the glass products with greater growth potential in the next five years are LOW-E glass and ultra-white embossed glass for solar cells, namely solar cell encapsulation glass. This product is available in the embossed glass production line of Nanjing Shenghan Glass Company. Nanjing Shenghan Glass Co., Ltd. was established on the basis of Saint-Gobain and Nanjing Nanyu Glass Co., Ltd., which was acquired by Korea Glass Group in 2001. Through Saint-Gobain's leading glass production process, the original float line was changed to a 420-ton high-quality float line, and a 260-ton high-quality embossed mirror glass production line was built, mainly producing ultra-white embossing mirrors for solar panels. glass. In view of the current situation that the ultra-white embossed glass market is in short supply, Nanjing Shenghan Glass Co., Ltd. intends to seize this favorable opportunity to quickly seize the market and has decided to build another embossed mirror ultra-white glass production line. In addition, Qingdao Jinjing Co., Ltd. has developed and produced 3.2mm tempered low-iron ultra-white high-transparency float glass through cooperation with PPG. It is one of the only manufacturers of tempered low-iron ultra-white glass in China. The company is also currently taking advantage of the world's largest embossed glass production base, and is actively developing 3.2mm low-iron ultra-white cloth (sue) glass as a component of solar cell packaging glass to meet the needs of the future market.

So, what is the market prospect of this ultra-white embossed glass? It should be said that its market is mainly determined by the market of solar photovoltaic cells. The packaged glass used in solar photovoltaic cells, the current mainstream product is low-iron tempered embossed glass (referred to as tempered suede glass), the thickness is 3.2mm, in the wavelength range of solar cell spectral response (320~1100nm) The light transmittance can reach 91% or more, and has a high reflectance for infrared light of more than 1200 nm. As a clean and renewable energy source, solar energy has received great attention from all over the world. According to statistics from relevant parties, by the end of 2004, the global production of solar modules reached 1,300 megawatts. Among them, the production of solar modules in China exceeded 160 megawatts, which is clearly still at a lower level of development and production. Regarding the amount of solar cell encapsulation glass used on solar photovoltaic cells, we will calculate the consumption of 1.3 square meters of glass per 165 watts for the time being. In 2004, the global solar photovoltaic cell packaging glass consumption was 10.4 million square meters, of which China exceeded 128. Ten thousand square meters. According to the current average annual growth rate of global PV modules of 30%, this year's global new solar cell packaging glass is about 3.5 million square meters. In 2007, the production capacity of China's solar cell modules will exceed 420 megawatts, and the annual consumption of solar cell packaging glass will be more than 3.4 million square meters.

It can be seen that due to the wide use of solar cells and the energy-saving products that the country is pushing hard, the market demand growth rate is very fast, and the demand for ultra-white embossed glass is also It is growing rapidly and this growth in demand will be a long-term sustained growth.

When non-renewable energy sources such as electricity, coal, and oil are frequently rushed, and energy issues are increasingly becoming a bottleneck restricting international economic development, more and more countries are beginning to implement the “sunshine plan” to develop solar energy resources and seek new impetus for economic development. Some high-level nuclear research institutions in Europe are also turning to renewable energy. By the end of 2002, the manufacturing capacity of solar photovoltaic power generation had reached 560,000 KW, the actual installed capacity was nearly 4 million KW, and the component cost dropped to 3.5 US dollars/WP. It is estimated that the price of PV modules will drop below US$1/WP in 2020. At present, the world's largest photovoltaic plant has an annual output of 36MW, and the price is 3-4 US dollars / WP. China's solar energy resources are very rich, and the theoretical reserves amount to 1.70 billion tons of standard coal per year. The potential for the development and utilization of solar energy resources is very broad. China is located in the northern hemisphere, with distances between north and south and east-west distances of more than 5,000 kilometers. In China's vast land, there are abundant solar energy resources. In most areas, the annual average daily radiation is above 4 kWh per square meter, and the daily radiation in Tibet is up to 7 kWh per square meter. The annual sunshine hours are greater than 2000 hours. Compared with other countries in the same latitude, it is similar to the United States and much superior to Europe and Japan. Therefore, the development prospects of China's photovoltaic industry are very broad. In recent years, the application of solar photovoltaic cells has gradually expanded in western China. In terms of domestic solar cell production, according to general statistics, there are currently more than a dozen companies in China that have a certain technical strength to produce solar cells. With the implementation of the western development and the implementation of bright projects, a number of emerging photovoltaic companies are emerging in China. However, in general, the scale is not big enough, showing a situation of fragmentation, disorder, and piecemeal, which cannot adapt to the development of China's photovoltaic cell market demand.

International professional organizations believe that the cost of solar photovoltaic cells will be significantly reduced by 2010, making it possible to compete with conventional energy sources. By 2050, the proportion of solar energy in the energy structure is about 13% to 15%. This shows that its development speed is fast. At the same time, these predictions fully reflect the increasingly important strategic position of solar energy in human energy. Driven by the huge potential of the international photovoltaic market, the photovoltaic manufacturing industry of various countries is rushing to invest huge sums of money to expand production to compete for a place. Compared with the internationally booming photovoltaic power generation, China lags behind developed countries for 10-15 years, and even lags behind India significantly. China's photovoltaic industry is growing at a rate of 30% per year, and the domestic photovoltaic cell production capacity has reached 100MW. With the support of various ministries and commissions in the country, the efficiency of photovoltaic cells in China's laboratories has reached 21%, the efficiency of commercial photovoltaic modules has reached 14-15%, and the efficiency of general commercial batteries has been 10-13%. At present, the production cost of solar photovoltaic cells in China has dropped drastically. The price of solar cells has gradually dropped from 40 yuan/watt in 2000 to 33 yuan/watt in 2003. In 2004, it has dropped to 27 yuan/watt. This has played a decisive role in the growth and maturity of the domestic solar market, and is of great significance for achieving integration with the international photovoltaic market.

With the increasing integration of photovoltaic power generation technology and architecture, the photovoltaic curtain wall with great development potential can not only achieve the same aesthetic effect as the glass curtain wall, but also utilize solar photovoltaic power generation technology to generate new energy. It is now becoming the new favorite of the international construction industry. . In Shanghai Xinzhuang Industrial Zone, there is a zero-energy solar energy comprehensive utilization demonstration building. This three-story small building has nearly one-fifth of the wall and roof, covering more than 300 solar panels, and the glass curtain wall of the small building is also made. "Sandwich Biscuits" - a double-glazed glass panel with solar panels, and a specially designed fence with double-sided solar panels. According to reports, the cost of this solar building is not expensive. Calculated by the price of 50 yuan / watt of solar panels, the entire building for solar power generation costs about 2 million yuan, accounting for 1/4 of the overall cost, and 1 Compared with the high-grade glass curtain wall of 10,000 yuan / square meter, the cost of solar glass curtain wall is only 4,000 yuan / square meter. At the Shanghai Solar International Exhibition held recently, a company in Shenzhen also produced a sample room for solar photovoltaic curtain walls. Double-glazed glass with solar panels embedded in it was made into shutters, which was very beautiful and caused widespread in the exhibition. attention. This shows that many of the safety problems and light pollution problems existing in the traditional glass curtain wall can be solved by using solar photovoltaic panels. In the long run, the scalability of this technology is very large, and the prospects are very promising. It will break through the existing use of solar photovoltaic cells and enable solar photovoltaic cells to be applied to a wider range of construction sectors.

The average conversion efficiency of solar cells in China is not high. The main reason is that the localization of special materials is low. For example, the packaging glass is completely dependent on imports. The high-permeability substrate glass market with low iron content still cannot meet the demand, and the scientific research results have not been rapid. Completely transformed into an industrial advantage. Therefore, the domestic market demand for solar photovoltaic cell packaging glass still needs domestic glass enterprises to increase efforts to break the monopoly of foreign companies. At present, although Qingdao Jinjing Technology has produced ultra-white glass, further efforts are needed in how to convert it into solar photovoltaic cell packaging glass products. Obviously, this ultra-white embossed glass for solar photovoltaic cells is quite profitable compared to ordinary glass. From the market price situation last year, the finished product price of this kind of glass is about 15 US dollars / square meter, about 120 yuan / square meter; the original piece import price is 8-9 US dollars / square meter, and some may still be more High, about RMB 64-72 yuan / square meter. This is unmatched by the price of other ordinary glass in China.

Now, China is promoting the establishment of an energy-saving society. As a renewable resource, solar energy is being used more and more widely. The market prospects of solar photovoltaic cells related to this are very promising, and their promotion in the domestic market will become faster and faster. Therefore, the demand for ultra-white embossed glass, the main component of solar photovoltaic cells, will grow rapidly. Considering that this type of glass is mainly relied on imports, domestic glass enterprises have great opportunities for development. Just like the original ultra-thin glass, there is no production in China, mainly relying on imports, the import price of 1.1mm glass can be sold to about 32 yuan / square meter, and after the domestic development and production of the product, the price is reduced. 25 yuan / square meter. But in any case, this kind of product is indeed a kind of product that can be expected to have more profit. The market profit of ordinary glass products is simply not the same. We have reason to believe that the ultra-white embossed glass will become a new variety of glass products that more glass companies pay attention to and fully develop in the short time.