China bans export of core solar panel technologies
A solar panel on a rooftop may include a hundred pieces of silicon and China has the lead now in machinery to manufacture those. Now Chinese manufacturers have been forbidden to use their large silicon, black silicon and cast-mono silicon technologies overseas, according to the newly-amended export guidelines published by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Chinese firms produce more than 80% of the world’s solar panels and modules but have faced heavy tariffs imposed by the United States over the past decade.
After the consultation, the commerce industry decided to ban the export of large silicon, black silicon and cast-mono passivated emitter and rear cell (PERC) technologies.
A Chinese IT columnist said large silicons sized between 182mm and 210mm would become the world’s standard as their market share had grown from 4.5% in 2020 to 45% in 2021 and would probably increase to 90% in future.
He said Chinese firms that tried to produce large silicons overseas would be affected by the new export ban as they might be unable to purchase the necessary equipment from China.
This might be the "First Salvo"