PVTIME – Indian solar energy firm Sunkind Energy Ltd and JA Solar have formed a strategic technical partnership to develop India’s first large-scale integrated solar production project. The project will have a solar cell capacity of 2.4GW and a module manufacturing capacity of 4GW. This collaboration will address India’s renewable energy manufacturing gap by using cutting-edge technology to produce high-efficiency solar products for the domestic and global markets.
As part of the agreement, JA Solar will share its proprietary technologies, including next-generation TOPCon cell processes, high-density module encapsulation techniques, and smart production line management systems. Hanish Gupta, Sunkind’s founder and managing director, commented that although India’s renewable energy capacity is growing by 25% annually, local supply currently meets only 30% of demand. This partnership will enable Sunkind to produce N-type TOPCon cells with an efficiency of over 24% and 600W+ smart modules, thus matching the performance of leading international brands.
The joint venture includes a shared raw material procurement platform to leverage economies of scale for key inputs such as polysilicon and silver paste, thereby reducing import costs. JA Solar’s technical team is upgrading Sunkind’s existing facilities with digital solutions, targeting a 18% reduction in energy consumption per unit and improving yield to 98.5%, enhancements that are critical for achieving competitive pricing in a fast-growing market.
Sunkind’s three-phase strategy outlines an aggressive expansion plan: the commissioning of cell and module plants by 2025; the diversification into solar trackers and flow battery storage by 2027; and the establishment of a distributed energy services network across South Asia by 2030. The company currently holds orders worth $420 million, including a 100MW rooftop project for Indian Railways and a 500MW agrivoltaic project with Tata Power, which positions it as a pivotal player in India’s solar infrastructure development. This initiative highlights the growing trend of technology partnerships.
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