The Business Year Special Report
Mustafa Ahmet Beler, Deputy General Manager, HT Solar
With a large portion of its production destined for export, HT Solar focuses on R&D to ensure its products are effective and up to date.
• Interview
“We see increasing demand in Turkey’s solar roof market as commercial enterprises are increasingly installing roof panels for selfconsumption.”
HT Solar is one of a number of companies that has recently invested in the Turkish solar manufacturing industry. How does HT Solar differentiate itself in the market?
HT Solar was established in the Istanbul Tuzla Industry and Commercial Free Zone in 2016. We produce 800-MW solar panels and 400-MW solar cells in our factory today. HT Solar is a part of Shanghai Aerospace Automobile Electromechanical (HT-SAAE), which is owned by the Chinese government. HT-SAAE was established in 1998 and was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in the same year. HT-SAAE has been on the TIER 1 PV list, a prestigious sector list published by Bloomberg, for many years. HT-SAAE is also a part of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which manufactures space equipment, satellites, space launch equipment, manned spacecrafts, defense hardware, deep space detectors, and other space equipment and is 323rd on the global Fortune 500.
What products does HT Solar manufacture, and what investments are you making in R&D?
Regarding our production, in the mono-crystal cells field we produce two different types of solar panels—60-cell and 72-cell options. HT Solar constantly updates these products in accordance with the demands of the market. We also have bifacial, bifacial half-cut, mono perc, and full black solar panels in our product portfolio. HT Solar globally invests USD10 million annually on R&D. We have around 500 employees working on our R&D team, and we cooperate with 20 high technology organizations to build the technology of the future. We constantly work on improvements in our R&D center to make our panels more efficient.
HT Solar is a major exporter of solar panels. Where are your most important markets?
Some 85% of our revenue come from exports. As HT Solar, we primarily supply products to the US, Europe, and the Middle East, with the US being the largest market. We hold the necessary certifications that are compatible with American and European export criteria. We exported 400MW of solar panels to the US in 2019 and will carry on steadily in 2020 as well. We will continue to supply panels for big projects by dedicating a large portion of our capacity to exporting to the US.
Solar energy growth in Turkey has recently been focused around commercial rooftop applications. Is this a target market for HT Solar?
Yes, we see increasing demand in Turkey’s solar roof market as commercial enterprises are increasingly installing roof panels for self-consumption. In response to this rising demand and with the contracted projects already in place, we expect to reach our 250MW delivery target by the end of the year.
What are HT Solar’s growth ambitions over the medium term?
Over the next five years, we hope to greatly enhance our product portfolio and expand into new markets. We strive to reducing energy costs, thereby adding value to both Turkey’s and the global solar energy potential with a sustainable vision. We recently made our production line suitable to produce 158.7mm solar cells and will start producing 166-mm half-cut cells in the near future. In addition, we plan to commercialize our Hotspot Free panel and with this innovation, we aim to add value to the investors by making a difference in solar roof projects.
What future innovations are you planning for your solar products?
We focus on the improvement of our solar panels with R&D efforts. In order to make solar power attractive for investors, we constantly update our product range to make more energy production possible. By doing this, return on initial installment investments becomes quicker and companies prefer to work with us more. In this respect, we plan to provide our investors with innovative products by keeping up with the trends in the world.