Chinese PV giants, Saudi Arabia launch energy storage project

Three Chinese photovoltaic (PV) giants including JinkoSolar Co and TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology Co announced big business deals on Tuesday, the same day that two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking large Saudi companies debuting on the China’s A-share market, highlighting the strengthening trade and financial cooperation between China and the Middle East.

On Tuesday, JinkoSolar announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary JinkoSolar Middle East DMCC signed a contract with Renewable Energy Localization Company (RELC), the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and Vision Industries Company (VI) to establish a joint venture (JV) in Saudi Arabia to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) high-efficiency photovoltaic module project there.

The total investment in the project reaches approximately $985 million, with JinkoSolar Middle East and RELC holding 40 percent, and VI holding 20 percent of the company’s shares. JinkoSolar said that it will provide IP licensing, research and development, sales and marketing services as part of the agreement.

On the same day, TCL Zhonghuan announced plans to build a factory in Saudi Arabia, and will sign an agreement with the VI and RELC to set up a JV company, jointly building an annual output of 20GW PV crystal wafer project in the country.

The total investment in the project is expected to be approximately $2.08 billion. TCL Zhonghuan, through its wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, holds 40 percent of the company’s shares.

RELC and VI will support the JV in obtaining the relevant licenses and approvals required for operations in Saudi Arabia, assisting the project in obtaining competitive support from the local government, while TCL Zhonghuan will license the required intellectual property rights and know-how to the JV and ensure that the construction of the plant will be completed on time.

Moreover, another Chinese PV giant, Sungrow, announced on Tuesday that the company and Saudi Arabia’s ALGIHAZ successfully signed the world’s largest energy storage project, with a capacity of up to 7.8 GWh.

The project will start product delivery this year, and the full-capacity grid-connected operation will be completed in 2025, which will effectively improve the stability and reliability of Saudi Arabia’s national grid, and help realize its “Vision 2030” plan.

Two ETFs tracking large Saudi companies, including Saudi Aramco, made successful debuts on the Chinese A-share market on Tuesday, and their values rose by the daily limit of 10 percent, with a premium of more than 6 percent.

According to statistics from Wind, a Chinese financial data provider, the total turnover of the two ETFs reached 4.896 billion yuan ($673.6 million) on the first day of trading. The two ETFs extended gains to open higher on Wednesday, with one rising to hit the daily limit of 10 percent and the other opening at 8 percent higher.