Japan's new energy industry technology focuses on four aspects

Japan's new energy industry technology focuses on four aspects

　Introduction: As a strong country in automobile manufacturing and photovoltaic industry, Japan's actions in new energy industry and technology have always attracted worldwide attention. According to Zhang Shuai, a new energy industry analyst at Guojin Securities, who recently visited Sharp (solar energy), Toyota (hybrid vehicles), Tokuyama (Japan's largest polysilicon plant), Fuji Electric (flexible film), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (nuclear power and clean combustion) and other companies in Japan, Japanese companies focus on thin-film batteries, hybrid electric vehicles, nickel-metal hydride batteries, clean combustion and other aspects in new energy technology.

　　As a strong country in automobile manufacturing and photovoltaic industry, Japan's actions in new energy industry and technology have always attracted worldwide attention. According to Zhang Shuai, a new energy industry analyst at Guojin Securities, who recently visited Sharp (solar energy), Toyota (hybrid vehicles), Tokuyama (Japan's largest polysilicon plant), Fuji Electric (flexible thin film), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (nuclear power and clean combustion) and other companies in Japan, Japanese companies focus on thin film batteries, hybrid electric vehicles, nickel-metal hydride batteries, clean combustion and other aspects in new energy technology.

　　In terms of solar energy, Japanese companies generally focus on thin-film batteries rather than crystalline silicon batteries. Tokuyama Chemical, which was originally one of the world's top five polycrystalline silicon companies, has also expanded its production capacity in Malaysia.

　　Zhang Shuai said that at present, Japanese companies have basically given up competing with Chinese companies in the field of conventional crystalline silicon batteries and turned to developing their more advantageous thin-film batteries or high-conversion-rate crystalline silicon batteries.

　　Japanese manufacturers such as Sharp have shifted their huge new production capacity to thin-film batteries, planning to expand production to 1,200MW by 2012 and claiming a stacking conversion rate of more than 10%; ShowaShell's CIS batteries produced using its own process lack the CDS buffer layer compared to the current mainstream CIGS batteries, thus avoiding potential pollution from heavy metal cadmium; Fuji Electric is unique in the field of flexible thin-film batteries, and the company plans to extend the advantage of good flexible film formability to the field of photovoltaic building materials; Sanyo Electric is taking the path of high-efficiency crystalline silicon batteries, and judging from sales in the European market, Sanyo's battery conversion rate and selling price are far ahead of other competitors.

　　In the battle between EV (electric vehicle) and HEV (hybrid electric vehicle), Toyota clearly supports HEV; in the choice between nickel-metal hydride batteries and lithium batteries, Toyota believes that nickel-metal hydride is the most balanced choice at present. The reason for supporting hybrid vehicles instead of pure electric vehicles comes from a comprehensive comparison of battery technology, cost, range, metal consumption, etc. Toyota believes that hybrid vehicles are the best choice at present, and pure electric vehicles have excellent indicators but obviously lack economic efficiency; the same is true for battery selection. Although lithium battery technical indicators are better than nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries are sufficient for hybrid vehicles currently used as short-distance means of transportation, and lithium batteries are not necessary.

　　In the communication with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the focus was on clean combustion and nuclear power technology. The company not only produces military products such as fighter jets, tanks and launch vehicles for the Japanese military, but is also an important player in the global power generation equipment field. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries believes that clean combustion and CCS (carbon capture and storage) are its core competitive business segments, and combining them with its IGCC (coal-fired) or GTCC (gas-fired) can achieve better emission reduction effects; in addition, its pressurized water reactor models have been safely operated for many years without any serious accidents, which is the biggest competitive advantage.