Forbes China has released its list of the country’s Top 50 CEOs, with LONGi Founder & President Li Zhenguo at 29th in the rankings.
In July 2020, LONGi's total market value exceeded 200 billion yuan, and the company has become the most valuable listed solar technology company in the world. Thanks to technology leadership, production scale and prudent management, coupled with the increased global market demand for solar products, LONGi has enhanced its strong track record with sustainable capital market returns.
According to Bloomberg NEF, wind and solar energy doubled their share of the global power mix over the last five years, moving the world closer to a path that would limit the worst effects of global warming. Solar and wind energy are expected to account for 48 percent of electricity generation by 2050, attracting more than $4.2 trillion in investment.
Based on PV industry association statistics, 90GW of monocrystalline silicon wafers were shipped in 2019, with LONGi's market share accounting for 40%, enabling the company to determine the price of products made from silicon wafers and the direction of the related technology. LONGi firmly believes that it can maintain its technological lead through strong commitment to technological innovation. It is this principle that has allowed the company to continue its growth despite the periodic peaks and troughs of the PV industry.
Li Zhenguo suggests that the biggest challenge facing the Group is how to go beyond current limitations, exploring potential sophisticated technology that cannot currently be incorporated based on existing knowledge. To overcome such issues, LONGi has invested in a strong talent pool for research and development, part of a drive to attract top professionals to meet the company’s ambitions for globalization.
With the acceleration of ‘Made in China 2025’, LONGi has realized that BIPV is one of the best channels for the future application of solar energy. LONGi New Energy, a subsidiary of the LONGi Group, has been committed to the R&D of BIPV products since 2019, with its latest BIPV product officially released in August.
As the global pandemic has disrupted overseas markets, LONGi has shifted focus to its domestic market in a way that helps the company achieve its business objectives. The North American market is still expected to grow in 2020, despite sales of residential, C&I and distributed power systems being affected by COVID-19. Meanwhile, in most of Europe and countries like Japan and South Korea, shipment levels are gradually returning to normal.
Moving onto other applications for PV, Li Zhenguo believes that large-scale seawater desalination can be translated into reality with the help of PV systems, which can divert fresh water to deserts and convert them into oases capable of absorbing carbon dioxide. Were 70% of the earth's desert areas converted into oases, all the carbon emissions generated since the beginning of human activity could be put to one side in an effort to realize the goal of being carbon negative.
LONGi is fully committed to propelling the transformation of the energy mix, contributing to the application & promotion of PV systems as well as the development of the PV industry.