On February 26, Ge Longhui | Pudate Technology (00650.HK) issued an announcement. On February 23, 2024, the company issued Incellplate Cu series chain copper electroplating equipment to customers. Revenue from this equipment purchase order has not yet been confirmed.
According to the disclosure, copper plating technology can be used in solar cell manufacturing. Copper electroplating technology uses low-cost metals as metallized interconnect materials to replace the precious metal silver, which can effectively reduce production costs. Compared with traditional screen printing technology, copper plating technology is expected to reduce non-silicon costs.
Copper metallized electrodes have a smaller wire resistance of 1.7 Ω‧m and are more conductive. Finer copper grids can reduce the shading loss of copper plating. Furthermore, the inside of the electroplated copper electrode is dense and uniform, which can effectively reduce the ohmic loss of the electrode. According to industry estimates, copper plating technology can improve battery conversion efficiency by 0.3% to 0.5% compared to traditional technology.