Yingli said the output of its new facility will be worth nearly US$1 billion. Image: Yingli.

Solar Module Super League member Yingli Solar has started construction on a new 5GW N-Type TOPCon cell facility in northern China.

Located in Mancheng Economic Development Zone, Baoding City, the factory represents a RMB2.5 billion (US$370 million) investment by the solar manufacturer. But Yingli said the output of the site will be worth more than RMB6.5 billion (US$960 million).

Expected to begin operations in Q1 2023, the production line adopts an MES intelligent manufacturing system, an AGV logistics transportation system, a WMS quality management system and other platforms to achieve high automation and low-carbon footprint, Yingli told PV Tech.

“The start of the industrial park is our important layout in the N-type TOPCon field”, said Yingli CEO Xiong Jingfeng. “Relying on the national standard innovation base, we continue to improve our technological competitiveness and achieve capacity upgrades.”

Yingli has been investing in N-type TOPCon technology since 2009 and sees it as a key technology of the future. PV Tech Premium has examined how solar research and development (R&D) spending has hit record levels to advance a TOPCon transition.

Yingli, alongside its competitors, has driven R&D spending into TOPCon in pursuit of competitive advantage, with the companies jointly investing billions into commercialising new cell technologies.

BySean Rai-Roche
August 18, 2022