**1. Booming PV Industry Provides Strong Growth Momentum for Stringing Machine Sector**
PV stringing machines are equipment that connect solar cells in series to achieve high voltage, representing the highest-tech and highest-value equipment in PV module packaging production lines. With a typical value of over 20 million yuan per GW, these machines account for more than 30% of total module equipment value. Through automated processes including feeding, ribbon handling, cell preheating, precision soldering, and quality inspection, PV stringing machines not only achieve efficient and rapid cell interconnection while significantly improving module production efficiency, but also ensure soldering precision and stability through standardized operations, effectively guaranteeing PV module power generation performance and service life.
As core equipment in PV module manufacturing, the development of the PV stringing machine industry is closely tied to the PV industry. In recent years, with the advancement of the "dual carbon" strategy and implementation of policies such as the "Notice on Promoting Coordinated Development of PV Industry Chain Supply Chain," China's PV industry has flourished, with new and cumulative installed capacity continuously climbing, bringing strong growth momentum and broad market space for PV modules and upstream stringing machine industries.
Data shows that in the first half of 2025, China's new PV installed capacity reached 212.21GW, a year-on-year increase of 107.07%. As of the end of June 2025, cumulative installed capacity exceeded 1,100GW, reaching more than 5 times the 2019 scale (204.2GW).
**2. China's PV Stringing Machine Market Continues Expanding, Industry Entering Steady Growth Phase**
Benefiting from the continued rapid development of China's PV industry, the PV stringing machine market has achieved rapid expansion. Data shows the market size grew steadily from 1.75 billion yuan in 2020 to 4.532 billion yuan in 2023, with an average annual compound growth rate of 37.33%, demonstrating significant industry growth momentum.
Looking ahead, China's PV stringing machine industry still possesses ample development space, with growth drivers mainly coming from two core dimensions: First, under the continued advancement of "dual carbon" strategic goals and the backdrop of domestic energy structure transformation toward clean and low-carbon sources, PV as an important renewable energy source is expected to maintain good development momentum, with steady increases in new installed capacity directly driving PV module demand growth, thereby bringing sustained incremental space for upstream stringing machine markets. Second, the PV industry chain's technological iteration pace is accelerating, from MBB to OBB busbar technology innovation and widespread application of large-size silicon wafers, all placing new requirements on PV stringing machines. As key equipment connecting the three core segments of silicon wafers, cells, and modules, PV stringing machines must continuously complete product technology upgrades to adapt to these new pathways, with technological iteration itself generating substantial equipment update and replacement demand.
Driven by these two factors, China's PV stringing machine market size is expected to exceed 9 billion yuan by 2028, with an average annual compound growth rate of 15.61% projected for 2023-2028, as the industry enters a steady growth phase.
**3. PV Busbar Technology Iteration Drives Stringing Machine Upgrades: OBB Stringing Machines Enter Mass Production, Leading Companies Pioneer Supply**
Under the continuous drive for cost reduction and efficiency improvement in the PV industry, China's PV cell busbar technology continues iterating and upgrading. Reviewing development history, cell gridlines have mainly evolved from 4BB, 5BB to MBB (Multi-Busbar), then to SMBB (Super Multi-Busbar), and currently to OBB (Zero Busbar) technology innovation.
Among these, MBB technology remains market mainstream due to its mature reliability, good stability, and high mass production yield, with common 9-12BB technology printing 9-12 busbars per cell. Meanwhile, driven by urgent industry demands for cost control and efficiency improvement, OBB technology is accelerating market penetration due to its dual advantages of significantly reducing silver paste consumption and effectively improving module power output, becoming an important direction for technological iteration.
**Comparison of MBB, SMBB, OBB Technology Types:**
**MBB Advantages:** Mature technology, high stability, high mass production yield, long application history in PV industry development, complete related equipment and industrial chain support.
**SMBB Advantages:** Finer and more numerous busbars reduce shading losses, can reduce silver paste usage, optimize current transmission paths, improve cell conversion efficiency, while more uniform current distribution enhances long-term cell reliability.
**OBB Advantages:** Eliminates busbars, can save approximately 30% silver paste at cell level, uses low-temperature soldering and ultra-fine flexible ribbons at module level to improve soldering yield, finer ribbons can collect more current, shorten current transmission distance, and increase module power.
PV cell busbar technology iteration directly drives synchronized innovation in PV stringing machine technology. Different busbar technologies have varying requirements for soldering precision, automation compatibility, and capacity efficiency, bringing both technological upgrade opportunities and generating substantial new and replacement demand for the PV stringing machine industry.
In this context, leading domestic PV stringing machine companies actively respond to technological changes, accelerating R&D and mass production of OBB stringing machines. Among them, Aotewei, Lead Intelligent, and Guangyuan shares have pioneered OBB stringing machine mass production, completing performance testing and stability verification, while successfully supplying multiple downstream manufacturers. This not only meets downstream enterprises' technology upgrade needs but further consolidates their market positions in the PV stringing machine field, driving overall industry development toward better adaptation to new busbar technologies.
**Current Progress of Some PV Stringing Machine Companies in OBB Field:**
**Aotewei:** March 2024 announced TOPCon OBB soldering technology reached mass production conditions; August 2024 ultra-high-speed OBB stringing equipment completed process verification at multiple leading companies, securing 10+GW orders; December 2024 received batch OBB stringing machine upgrade confirmations from two PV leaders totaling ~20GW capacity; February 2025 secured batch HJT OBB stringing machine upgrade confirmation exceeding 10GW capacity. Currently holds 120+ OBB-related patent applications with deep patent layout across multiple process routes.
**Lead Intelligent:** 2022 industry-first mass production OBB stringing machine; April 2024 launched innovative mass production OBB stringing machine with high precision, high reliability, and low cost; May 2024 successful delivery to TOP-tier customers.
**Guangyuan Shares:** January 2025 launched nationally first OBB and SMBB stringing machines, securing 5GW orders from heterojunction leaders.
**Maiwei:** Second half 2023 reached 20GW heterojunction NBB stringing machine strategic cooperation, with mass production equipment delivered over 3 years.
**4. Domestic Leader Aotewei Leads PV Stringing Machine Market**
China's PV stringing machine market competition landscape has become clear, with leading companies possessing technological and resource advantages maintaining strong market control and dominant industry positions. Domestic company Aotewei performs outstandingly, leveraging advantages in technology, products, comprehensive services, and customers to not only firmly hold the domestic stringing machine market's top position but also maintain long-term global market leadership, occupying key positions in international competition.
Aotewei's 2024 annual report shows over 60% global stringing machine market share, further confirming its leading global position.
**Aotewei's Competitive Advantages:**
**Technical Advantage:** Emphasizes R&D investment and innovation, established experienced large-scale R&D team, accumulated rich proprietary intellectual property results. As of June 30, 2025, holds 2,361 authorized intellectual properties including 313 invention patents and 1,558 utility model patents.
**Product Advantage:** PV stringing machine products offer stable performance and high processing yield, meeting customers' high capacity and quality requirements while reducing production costs. Latest multi-busbar stringing machines can stably achieve 10,800 half-cells/hour.
**Comprehensive Service Advantage:** Deploys engineers to over 600 production bases across 40+ countries/regions globally, providing on-site equipment installation and debugging services, plus remote guidance, on-site testing, operation maintenance, and professional training.
**Customer Advantage:** Established good long-term cooperation with leading domestic and international PV companies including JinkoSolar, Tongwei, Trina Solar, LONGi, JA Solar, Hanwha, GCL, Canadian Solar, Runergy, REC Solar, and NorSun. All top ten global PV module suppliers are company customers.
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