SNEC Interview: Skyworth PV to roll out EPC business globally

During last month’s SNEC exhibition in Shanghai, pv magazine met with Wanfei Qu, CEO and director of Skyworth Group (also named Solavita in Europe), at the Chinese manufacturer's impressive booth. The company utilizes the “Solavita” brand in Europe, but whether the brand is “Skyworth” or “Solavita” the it can leverage its strong foundation in manufacturing, electronics and IT, which it has built up in over 37 years. The Shenzhen-headquartered manufacturer only entered the solar PV industry in 2020, but in the span of just four years the company went from $10 million in PV-related revenues to $3 billion in 2024. The young CEO of Skyworth PV has ambitious goals for the future, targeting $1 billion in overseas PV revenues in the next three years. Germany and Italy are the company’s target markets in Europe.

SKYWORTH is an electronics giant in China, was ranked 272nd in the Fortune China 500 in 2024 and generating overall revenues of US$1 billion globally last year. It is the fifth largest television producer worldwide and ranks number 3 in that category in its home market China. SKYWORTH Group employs 30,000 people in China and around the world with 2000 of the overall workforce being employed in the SKYWORTH PV business.

But the solar business is ramping up fast. They are already the number 2 for distributed PV brandin China and in  SKYWORTH PV hit the 25 GW mark in terms of PV installations. That prompted Ms. Qu and other members of senior SKYWORTH PV management to look at overseas expansion.

But back to SKYWORTH’s initial foray into PV in 2019. As Qu explains it: “Five years ago in 2020 we entered the PV market. But before this, fifteen years ago, so in 2010, we started producing electric cars. So that’s why we were well positioned to move into the solar PV sector. We had become familiar with the industry and the industry’s logic. So after ten years of making electric vehicles, our founder decided that it’s a good time to enter the solar field.”

They anticipated President Xi’s decarbonization push in 2020, when the Chinese President announced the country’s 2030 peak-carbon goal and 2060 carbon neutrality goal. As a solar and energy storage EPC they are not as upstream-focused as the typical Chinese cell and module manufacturer, since they provide a downstream offer with their EPC profile while at the same time having the upstream manufacturing prowess and technology to go with it.

At last month’s SNEC pv magazine also attended a signing ceremony involving the Chinese PV manufacturer Aiko and SKYWORTH PV. Aiko has made a name for itself in the PV industry for its high-efficiency back-contact (BC) modules and the two manufacturers are teaming up in China to make Aiko’s BC technology a part of SKYWORTH PV’s offering in mainland China. The collaboration announced at SNEC involves a 5 GW joint venture to manufacture high-efficiency BC modules. SKYWORTH PValready produces its own inverters, battery storage units, mounting systemsand modules, but on the panel side it is also teaming up with best-of-breed partners to offer top-of-the-end high-efficiency solutions to its customers. In China SKYWORTH PVs role is that of EPC and equipment supplier; ownership of the PV assets is typically by a third party investor.

As Ms.Qu explained at SNEC, these investors also have an appetite for overseas projects. In Thailand, one of the four countries singled out by Ms. Qu for the overseas rollout, SKYWORTH PV is in the process of setting up a $500 million fund to invest in PV projects in that country. In the other Asian country targeted by Ms. Qu, the Philippines, solar project pay-back times are just three years, at least when it comes to utility-scale PV power plants. The island nation’s high electricity rates, the highest in Asia, make it an attractive market for investors.

Over in Europe SKYWORTH PV (also named Solavita) can leverage its strong TV business with Germany and Italy ranking as the top European TV markets for the manufacturer. SKYWORTHalso acquired the high-end German consumer electronics manufacturer Metz ten years ago, which includes a factory in Germany and a workforce of 200 employees. So the company is literally already in German and other European homes and can add other home appliances it manufactures, including refrigerators and air conditioners, to the mix to offer integrated clean energy solutions that can be managed centrally by the end-user, for example with a smartphone app. As e-mobility adoption increases across Europe, SKYWORTH’s EV experience and technology will also feature in this mix.

Ms. Qu is a young female leader with an international background, having lived for extended periods in both Asia and North America. She speaks fluent English and her overarching goal is for SKYWORTH’s users to enjoy a better life. While she is proud of the 400 million products the company has shipped since its founding 30 years ago, her vision is broader and seeks to improve the life of people who use SKYWORTH products and solutions, be they in her home country or in markets further away.