Sany silicon energy "wins" Africa

On May 15, a delegation of African envoys to China, composed of 51 African countries and African Union representative offices in China, came to Sany Silicon Energy (Zhuzhou) Co., Ltd. in Zhuzhou to witness how China's new energy technology has traveled 10,000 kilometers to build an energy security station of "photovoltaic + energy storage + diesel power" on the African continent.

The visit unveiled Sany Group's deep commitment to the African new energy market – from the establishment of a silicon energy company in 2022 to the current leadership of the African photovoltaic storage and diesel microgrid project, the Chinese equipment manufacturing giant is "lighting up" Africa at an astonishing speed.

At present, the new energy industry has become the second growth curve of Sany Group.

Xiang Wenbo, the rotating chairman of Sany Group, said that Sany has comprehensively deepened its industrial layout, widely covering low-carbon industries such as wind energy, solar energy, hydrogen energy and energy storage, and accelerated the construction of a green and low-carbon development system, aiming to create a new and forward-looking green and low-carbon industrial development pattern.

Dai Qinghua, chairman of Sany Silicon Energy, introduced the development of the new energy industry to the guests in Zhuzhou

"It took only 120 days from signing the contract to putting it into production"

"African mines are generally facing the challenges of unstable power supply and high cost of traditional energy, and Sany Microgrid Solution provides customers with one-stop clean energy alternatives through modular design and digital control, enabling the green transformation of mines." Zhang Liang, general manager of the South African subsidiary of Sanzhongying, said.

Xu Zhongtian, assistant to the president of Sany Group and general manager of Microgrid Investment Company, told this reporter that because of the lack of local electricity, mines far away from urban areas are often difficult to connect to the local power grid, and can only rely on diesel power generation, and the power cost of mining is extremely high. "If you are also going to build a smelter near the mine, the cost of diesel power generation could account for 45% of the total cost."

Today, at Zambia's Ruida Mining Base, mining operations that were once plagued by power outages are a thing of the past.

"It took only 120 days from signing the contract to putting it into production, which is a record." Xu Zhongtian still remembers the sense of urgency at that time. The complex geological conditions of the region have put many overseas counterparts off: muddy roads during the rainy season cause delays in the transportation of equipment, high temperatures test the durability of equipment, not to mention the communication costs of cross-cultural teamwork.

However, the engineering team of Sany Silicon Energy has offered a combination of "three shifts + prefabricated modular construction", greatly increasing the proportion of pre-assembly of photovoltaic brackets, and the energy storage system is rapidly deployed in a containerized manner, which has grabbed the construction period in the golden window of the dry season.

On December 29, 2024, the largest single photovoltaic storage and diesel microgrid project in Africa undertaken by Sany Silicon Energy officially generated electricity, with 13MWp photovoltaic panels shining under the scorching sun, and 39MWh energy storage batteries like super chargers, with backup diesel generators, to ensure the stability and reliability of energy supply.

Not only that, Sany's innovative model has also significantly reduced operating costs. Deng Junbo, vice president of Sany Silicon Energy Microgrid Research Institute, said: "With this system, the cost of obtaining the same electricity is only 1/3 of the previous one, and at the same time, the power supply has become stable and environmentally friendly." ”

Xu Zhongtian introduced that the first phase of the project that Ruida Mining has put into operation "can generate about 16 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, which can help customers save more than 20 million yuan (RMB) in electricity costs, accounting for nearly 30% of the total production costs of customers."

9 months to open up the whole photovoltaic industry chain

The power source that supports Sany's rapid development in the African market is China, which is thousands of miles away.

Xiang Wenbo said that in 2022, Sany Group officially entered the photovoltaic industry, and opened up the entire photovoltaic industry chain from monocrystalline to cells and modules in only 9 months, explored the construction of a comprehensive energy system integrating photovoltaic, energy storage and diesel power, and applied it in Zambia and other markets. In the hydrogen energy business segment, focusing on the seven major technology research and development capabilities of integration, materials, testing, simulation, process, electronic control, and hydrogen safety, it has released a single-system hydrogen electrolyzer and a GW-level overall solution for green electricity hydrogen production. The energy storage battery system relies on the Magic Tower stacking solution, and the battery swap product achieves a fast battery swap in 1.9 minutes, ranking in the forefront of the industry.

In Sany Silicon Energy, the African guests have seen with their own eyes the complete photovoltaic industry chain process from crystal pulling, slicing to cells, modules and then to photovoltaic power plants, which is highly efficient for Sany Silicon EnergyPhotovoltaic modulesand the technological innovation of photovoltaic intelligent manufacturing equipment was highly evaluated.

In the 5GW cell workshop, the reporter found that almost all processes are automated, and you can see automated guided vehicles (AGVs) transporting silicon wafers from one process to another.

In addition to the photovoltaic industry, Sany has also made remarkable achievements in the field of wind power. As early as 2013, Sany won the bid for the Adama wind power project in Ethiopia, and the order for 102 wind turbines set a new order record for China's wind turbine exports at that time. Sany is now among the world's top 10 wind turbine manufacturers and has a place in the world's top 500 energy companies.

It is understood that the new energy business is only part of Sany Group's huge industrial layout in Africa. As a representative of the Hunan Army of Construction Machinery, Sany's relationship with Africa can be traced back to 2002, when the first batch of hydraulic graders exported by Sany was sold to Morocco in Africa.

Up to now, Sany has achieved a cumulative sales revenue of more than 20 billion yuan in Africa, and the number of equipment has exceeded 23,000 units, ranking first in the export of Chinese construction machinery enterprises to Africa.

What is more noteworthy is that Sany is deeply synergizing the new energy business with the main business of construction machinery. Xu Zhongtian said: "To open a mine, Sany has a big excavator; To transport ore, Sany has a mining card; To generate electricity, Sany has photovoltaic, wind power, energy storage, and intelligent microgrid solutions, forming a strong comprehensive advantage in the mining industry. ”

The "Trinity Code" in Africa

According to the plan, the Sany South Africa ABP project will be completed in August 2025, and as a regional manufacturing center, logistics center and talent center, the company will continue to increase investment in local manufacturing, local talents and services.

The site broke ground in Johannesburg in 2023 with an investment of R300 million (about 115 million yuan) to serve the entire African region.

"In Africa, we want to transplant the genes made by China to the African soil. It is not only necessary to export products, but also to cultivate the local new energy industry chain. Xiang Wenbo said that from the beginning of the simple sales of domestically produced products to overseas markets of "internationalization", to the current "globalization" development strategy of turning product exports into industrial exports, Sany has allocated R&D, manufacturing, sales, service and other resources around the world.

At present, Sany has 15 subsidiaries in Africa, permanent branches in more than 30 African countries, a staff localization rate of more than 50%, 13 high-quality agents, and equipment in more than 50 countries and regions in Africa.

Xu Zhongtian revealed that the current South African base mainly produces excavators, and Sany also plans to build a new production base of photovoltaic modules + energy storage equipment in Africa, "to better adapt to the rapid development of local business, increase the proportion of localization, and the proportion of local employees in Africa should reach more than 50%."

According to statistics, Sany and its agent system have created more than 5,000 jobs in Africa.

Many African students also choose to study at Sany Institute of Technology, a subsidiary of Sany Group, to study construction machinery and manufacturing, aiming to improve the level of local industrial technology after returning to China.

In the future, a stronger local supply chain will support Sany's faster development in the field of new energy. Dai Qinghua, chairman of Sany Silicon Energy, said that at present, a number of microgrid projects in Africa have shown a good development trend of multi-point flowering. In the future, the company will continue to give full play to its advantages in technology and management to ensure that follow-up projects and existing projects can be delivered safely, on time and with high quality, so that the "flower of hope" of green energy will bloom more and more brilliantly on the land of Africa, and inject a steady stream of vigorous impetus into local energy and economic development.

Source: China Economic Weekly