Chinese PV Industry Brief: CATL surges in Hong Kong trading debut
Chinese battery giant CATL surged 12.55% on its Hong Kong trading debut after raising HKD 35.6 billion ($4.6 billion), marking the world’s largest listing in 2025. The offering drew strong demand from strategic and cornerstone investors, boosting CATL’s market capitalization to HKD 1.34 trillion.
China installs record 36 GW of rooftop solar in Q1 as new rules drive surge
China installed a record 60 GW of new PV capacity in the first quarter of 2025, driven by a surge in rooftop deployment ahead of updated grid-access rules, says Rystad Energy. It predicts that rooftop growth will continue, but new self-consumption mandates are reshaping regional development strategies and increasing project complexity.
Startup Check – Who’s shaping the future of solar?
pv magazine editor Matthew Lynas toured the startup corner at Intersolar Europe 2025, highlighting emerging businesses focused on flexibility, smart meters, software, and PV integrated with glass.
A critical moment for Brazilian energy storage
A national procurement round for energy storage systems, planned in the second half of the year, is at risk of lengthy delay just as the grid operator is being forced to curtail large volumes of excess clean electricity.
Ikea begins offering air-to-water heat pumps in Germany
The Swedish furniture giant began offering air-to-water heat pumps distributed by Svea Solar and manufactured by Sweden-based Aira.
Pros and cons of running a solar business via the product-service-system model
New research from the Netherlands has shown that product-service-system business models applied to the PV business encourage the use of high-quality PV products and maximizing system lifespan. Their alleged connection with circular economy principles, however, was found to be weak, with financial considerations being prioritized by customers.
Sonnex plan 500 MW solar module factory in Bangladesh
Germany’s Sonnex plans to scale the capacity of its factory in Bangladesh to 500 MW by 2028 and to an unspecified gigawatt scale by 2035.
Ecoprogetti releases fully automated solar panel recycling line
Italy’s Ecoprogetti has developed an automated photovoltaic recycling line that separates and recovers up to 100% of the aluminum, copper, glass, plastic and silicon in solar panels. It can process up to 60 panels per hour while using 40% less energy than other solutions on the market.
Magellan launches home battery system
Western Australian manufacturer Magellan Power has unveiled a new all-in-one residential energy storage system offering battery capacities from 9.6 kWh to 25 kWh and inverter capacities from 5 kW to 15 kW.
Australia provides connection approval for DC-coupled solar and battery project
Construction of a 300 MW solar farm and 486 MWh battery energy storage project in New South Wales, Australia, is scheduled to commence later this year, as developer Octopus Investments Australia has secured critical grid connection approval.
