LONGi launches its LONGi One strategy in Africa
LONGi has chosen Africa to launch LONGi One, its regional strategy built around bringing the company’s highest-efficiency solar technology to the continent, a senior LONGi representative told the Africa Energy Forum in Cape Town.
After a decade operating in Africa, the company sees the moment as right to bring a more complete offer, one that pairs its best modules with the systems to integrate them, aiming for the highest efficiency on the grid. That combination of top-tier module and integrated system is what LONGi One is meant to capture.
At the centre of the strategy sits the company’s back-contact, or BC, cell technology. Two years ago, he said, few in the market understood what BC was. Now, across Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, customers recognise it as the direction the industry is heading, so the conversation has moved on from explaining the technology to showing how far it can go. For a standard-size panel, he said LONGi’s BC modules now reach up to around 25.5% efficiency and up to 690 watts, which he placed at the top of the industry, with room still to improve.
Asked what “built for Africa” means, he was clear it does not mean shipping a standard product to the region. Africa is one of the most dynamic solar markets in the world, growing fast year on year, but conditions vary enormously from one country to the next. Some face high temperatures, others heavy dust, some need a lower-cost module while others want a premium, high-efficiency product. LONGi’s answer is a broad portfolio designed for those different conditions, including modules built to resist dust and other local stresses, so that customers get the solution that suits them and value for every rand or dollar they spend.
On AEF itself, he said it was his second year attending and that each year shows more clearly which companies are healthy and which are working hardest on innovation. The African market has grown strongly over the past year, he said, and LONGi is grateful for the support of its customers across the continent.
