翻译：
Longji Green Energy “Lighthouse factory” : follow the “light” intelligent manufacturing custom demand
Figure ① Intelligent flexible production process of photovoltaic modules
Figure 2 Longi Green Energy Jiaxing “Lighthouse factory” every 16 seconds down a component company for drawing
Automated trucks shuttle thin frames of silicon wafers; The robotic arm and conveyor belt efficiently weld, frame and install junction boxes in a transparent small cubicle, accurately and quickly completing each production link… This is reporter saw the scene in the workshop of Longi Green Jiaxing base.
In 2023, Longi Green Energy Jiaxing Base was selected into the list of “lighthouse factories” announced by the World Economic Forum, which is also the first “lighthouse factory” in the global photovoltaic industry.
The Lighthouse Factory is hailed as “the world’s most advanced factory” and an innovation demonstrator of “Globalization 4.0”, jointly organized by the World Economic Forum and McKinsey Consulting company. “Lighthouse Factory” shortlisted requirements are very strict, need to integrate at least 5 world-class leading level of technology applications, and Longi Green Energy Jiaxing base since the production in 2020, has developed and implemented more than 30 digital use cases to promote intelligent manufacturing.
As the first “lighthouse factory” in the photovoltaic industry, what “black technology” does Longi Green Energy Jiaxing Base have? In the current intensified competition in the photovoltaic industry, does Longi Green Energy’s “lighthouse factory” have benchmarking significance in promoting the high-quality development of the photovoltaic industry?
1. Solve industry problems
According to reports, Longi Green Energy Jiaxing base mainly produces Longi BC (back contact battery technology) series of high-efficiency solar cell modules, the existing Jiaxing phase I, II, III factories, a total area of more than 1300 acres, with 51 intelligent production lines, the overall component production capacity of more than 35GW, is the industry’s largest industrial cluster.
”At Longi Green Energy’s Jiaxing base, every 16 seconds, a component comes off the production line.” Longi Green Energy Jiaxing base intelligent project leader Du Guoxiang told reporters.
Because the hidden crack of the battery is extremely difficult to detect with the naked eye, previously, after the battery is composed of the finished product, the problem is found in the final inspection link, and the entire finished product will be scrapped. At the same time, the traditional bar code traceability is not applicable, and the virtual code traceability accuracy is low, which has been a problem for the photovoltaic module production industry.
Today, the innovative application of AI precision traceability technology in the Jiaxing base can determine whether 12 strings of components are defective every 18 seconds in the production process. “At the same time, the defects are produced by which assembly line and which machine can be identified and traced.” This technology not only ensures the efficiency of the entire production process, but also improves the speed of response to customers.” Du Guoxiang told reporters that the AI tracing technology based on image characteristics is the first patented technology in the industry, which solves the industry problems that plague the traditional bar code tracing and the low accuracy of virtual code tracing in the production process of photovoltaic industry components.
This is just a microcosm of the intelligent and digital Jiaxing base of Longi Green Energy.
In this “lighthouse factory”, Longi Green Energy has adopted new technologies such as industrial Internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and digital twins on a large scale, and successfully implemented more than 30 digital use cases. These include five core “black technologies”, namely, flexible automation enabled by machine vision, whole-process detection and traceability enabled by AI, intelligent management of order production and delivery cycle, battery resource matching and dynamic correction enabled by AI algorithm, and intelligent human management.
Hu Zhifeng, head of the Fine Intelligence Manufacturing Department of Longi Green Energy Component Manufacturing Center, introduced: “We have designed the flexible automation of artificial intelligence and machine vision, and the equipment is flexible and compatible with a variety of product models and sizes, which can realize the fast switching of the production line and meet the individual needs of customers.” Smarter workforce planning ensures high productivity.”
Hu Zhifeng revealed that after the implementation of the “Lighthouse factory” project, product quality reliability has been improved by 43%, product production and delivery cycle has been shortened by 84%, overall unit energy consumption of the production base has been reduced by 20%, and unit hourly output has been increased by 35%.
2. Build differentiated advantages
The digital transformation and upgrading of Longi Green Energy has laid a better foundation for the development of the BC technology products that the company is iterating and upgrading.
”In the case of changes in the external environment and intensifying competition in the industry, enterprises should pay more attention to the cultivation of internal skills.” “Internal work” is not simply automation, but the real realization of digital transformation, based on data to mine more value, to achieve cost reduction, quality improvement, higher customer satisfaction, to create Longji green energy itself excellent competitiveness.” Du Guoxiang said.
BC technology is the key direction of Longi Green Energy layout in the next few years. According to the company’s planning for the next three years, Longi Green Energy’s annual production capacity of BC batteries will reach 100GW, and the annual production capacity of single crystal components will reach 150GW.
For many years, the development of BC technology has been limited by the cost, process, yield and other issues. It is precisely because of these problems that BC technology is difficult to commercialize and enter the mass market.
Around these technical difficulties, as early as 2017, Longi Green Energy began the commercial research and development of BC technology. “The company carried out research and development around BC technology issues and made major technological breakthroughs.” Tong Hongbo, head of the Central Research Institute of Longi Green Energy, said that, for example, a new material has been developed that can reduce the steps of the original BC technology by four steps, and the reduced process flow is two steps less than the existing TOPCon technology.
In September last year, Longi Green Energy officially announced its new generation of technology route for BC technology. In Longji Green Energy’s view, with the wisdom of the blessing, the company’s BC products will move to a new level in cost reduction, efficiency and quality improvement.
However, for Longi Green Energy, there are deeper considerations to build a “lighthouse factory”.
”In the past quite a long period of time, Longi Green Energy has been thinking about a problem, that is, how to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency through technology research and development, to solve the biggest pain point of photovoltaic power generation, simply put, ‘practice internal work’.” Today, after years of efforts, the photoelectric conversion efficiency has been approaching the theoretical limit. In the next step, how to make better components and better meet the diversified needs of customers is the direction of Longi Green Energy’s efforts.” Longi green energy vice president Zhang Haimeng told reporters.
Since the official announcement of BC technology in September last year, Longi Green Energy has released a number of new scenario-based components, whether it is ash prevention or humidity and heat resistance, its core purpose is to meet the customized needs of customers through differentiated innovation. Zhang Haimeng further introduced: “Longi Green Energy not only needs to improve the power generation efficiency of products from the research and development side, but also needs to be more efficient in the manufacturing process, meet the diversified requirements of customers, faster delivery to customers, and flexible automated production of customized products in different scenarios.”
3. The demonstration role of “lighthouse factory”
On July 9, the “Photovoltaic Manufacturing industry Specification Conditions (2024)” (draft for comment) issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology mentioned that enterprises are encouraged to automate, information, intelligent and green throughout all aspects of design, production, management, testing and service, actively carry out intelligent manufacturing, improve the essential safety level, reduce operating costs, and shorten the production cycle of products. Improve production efficiency, reduce the rate of defective products, improve energy utilization.
In the view of the industry, with the continuous development of information technology, intelligence and digitalization will become a new engine for the development of the photovoltaic industry, and an important driving force to promote the high-quality development of the photovoltaic industry. At the same time, digitalization will also promote the PV industry’s business model innovation and market expansion, bringing new growth points to the industry.
In the thinking of Longji Green Energy, the innovation of “lighthouse factory” is not only the transformation of production line automation and intelligence, but the reconstruction of production relations, so that AI intelligence becomes the brain of production management, based on big data models, continuous independent innovation, to achieve the true sense of intelligent manufacturing upgrade self-drive, and escort for improving quality and efficiency.
Zhang Haimeng revealed that Longi Green Energy will continue to rapidly expand the agile intelligent manufacturing model of Jiaxing “Lighthouse factory” and promote it to more production and manufacturing bases, so as to achieve an all-round improvement of production intelligent manufacturing capacity and establish a digital intelligent model for the high-quality development of the photovoltaic industry.
In the view of the industry, the demonstration role and successful experience of the “lighthouse factory” can guide other enterprises to move towards a more high-end, smarter and greener direction, promote the optimization of industrial structure and improve the efficiency of resource utilization.
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