Mellow Energy continues to drive innovation forward.
Guangdong Mellow Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Mellow Energy") has recently completed its Pre-A round of financing. This round was led by Huajin Capital, with follow-on investments from ShenZhen Startup Internet Investment Management and Yonghua Capital.
Mellow Energy had previously completed an angel round of financing in November 2022. It is reported that the funds raised in this round will be primarily used for the construction of a 100MW production line.
Established on August 3, 2022, Mellow Energy is a company engaged in the research and development, production, and manufacturing of perovskite photovoltaic modules. It was incubated by the New Energy Technology Research Institute of Jinan University, with the founding dean, Mai Yaohua, leading the team. The company has won the highest efficiency certification for perovskite modules five times and has initiated a 100MW perovskite photovoltaic module production line project, which started construction in Zhuhai City in April of this year and is expected to be officially put into operation in the second half of this year.
Perovskite solar cells are widely recognized as the third generation of solar photovoltaic cells in the industry. The theoretical conversion efficiency limit of traditional crystalline silicon cells is 29.4%, while single-junction perovskite solar cells can achieve up to 33%, and multi-junction stacked perovskite solar cells can exceed 50%. As the conversion efficiency of crystalline silicon cells gradually approaches the theoretical limit, perovskite represents a clear and explicit direction for the evolution of photovoltaic cells.
Under the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutrality, perovskite solar cells, which have lower preparation costs and higher theoretical efficiency limits, bear the important task of further reducing the cost of photovoltaic electricity and achieving dual carbon goals. According to forecasts by the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), by 2030, the penetration rate of perovskite photovoltaic modules in China is expected to reach 30%.
Mellow Energy has achieved the process integration of the pilot production line for perovskite photovoltaic modules in February 2023 and officially rolled off the first large-area 30cm*30cm perovskite photovoltaic module. In December 2023, Mellow Energy achieved a certified conversion efficiency of 22.86% on the 30cm*30cm large-area perovskite photovoltaic module, which is the highest value reported in the world to date.
Building on this foundation, Mellow Energy initiated the construction of a 100MW perovskite photovoltaic module production line project in April 2024, with the construction expected to be completed by the end of June this year. The construction of a new factory at the hundred-megawatt level signifies an important step in the company's mass production of perovskite solar cells.
It is understood that Mellow Energy has published over 100 papers related to perovskites and independently holds 16 authorized patents for perovskite solar cells, which have formed the company's competitive moat.
In terms of the team, Mellow Energy's team combines R&D capabilities with industrialization experience. Among them, Mai Yaohua, who has served as the co-founder and CTO of the well-known domestic thin-film photovoltaic company, Tianwei Photovoltaic, led the construction of Tianwei Photovoltaic's 75MW production line from scratch. He also serves as the dean of the New Energy Technology Research Institute at Jinan University, with extensive experience in product research and development, process introduction, quality assurance, performance/capacity enhancement, and cost reduction.
"The main task of the company in 2024 is to achieve the operation of the 100MW production line and the construction of the tandem cell pilot line," said Mai Yaohua. The company will continue to expand production capacity steadily while ensuring technological leadership, continuously promoting technological innovation and mass production of perovskite solar cells, and contributing more strength to the national dual-carbon strategy.