GeSI Member Spotlight: LONGi

From Lighthouse Manufacturing to Safer Solar: Validating BC Technology through LONGi’s “Lighthouse + Net-Zero” Factory and Hi-MO X10 Modules.

As the global energy transition accelerates, the photovoltaic industry faces a defining challenge: how to scale advanced, high-efficiency solar manufacturing without compromising net-zero production, operational safety, or long-term reliability.

This is the challenge LONGi addresses. Through Lighthouse-level intelligent manufacturing and ISO-certified net-zero production, LONGi demonstrates how advanced photovoltaic technology delivers tangible, real-world benefits. By reducing unit energy consumption by 20%, improving product reliability by 43%, and validating significant reductions in soiling losses, fire risk, and shading-related performance drops, LONGi provides a credible, end-to-end pathway from advanced manufacturing to safer, more reliable solar deployment at scale.

I. The Challenge: Scaling Advanced PV Manufacturing while Ensuring Safety, Reliability and Net-Zero Production

As the global energy transition accelerates, the photovoltaic industry faces a dual challenge: how to scale the manufacturing of increasingly advanced, high-efficiency solar modules, while at the same time ensuring production sustainability, operational safety, and long-term reliability.

For next-generation PV technologies, performance alone is no longer sufficient. Global markets increasingly demand proof that advanced products are:

manufactured through digitally enabled, intelligent processes,
aligned with net-zero and low-carbon production pathways, and
capable of delivering measurable gains in safety, reliability and real-world performance.

II. The Solution: LONGi’s “Lighthouse + Net-Zero” Factory as a Validation Platform for Advanced BC Technology

LONGi Green Energy Technology’s manufacturing base in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province provides a unique response to this challenge. The Jiaxing facility is the world’s first photovoltaic manufacturing site recognised simultaneously as a “Lighthouse Factory” and a Net-Zero Factory:

In December 2023, the World Economic Forum (WEF) included theLONGiJiaxing base in its Global Lighthouse Network, making it the first Lighthouse Factory in the global PV industry. Lighthouse factories represent the highest global standards in digital manufacturing, Industry 4.0 and intelligent production.
Building on this foundation, in 2024 the Jiaxing base advanced its net-zero factory pathway, becoming the first PV manufacturing site certified under ISO 14068 carbon neutrality standards.

With automation levels exceeding 90%, AI-driven production management, and more than 30 digital use cases implemented across operations, the factory achieves:

a 43% improvement in product quality reliability,
an 84% reduction in production delivery cycles, and
a 20% reduction in unit energy consumption.

This highly digitalised, low-carbon manufacturing environment serves not only as a production base, but also as a real-world validation platform for advanced photovoltaic technologies.

BC Technology with “Three-Proof” Capabilities, Exemplified by Hi-MO X10

Within this Lighthouse + Net-Zero manufacturing framework, LONGi’s Back Contact (BC) technology has emerged as a core technological pathway. Its capabilities were publicly validated through on-site comparative testing featured by CCTV News during its “Looking Back at 2025” programme.

The tests focused on three critical real-world challenges for solar modules—soiling, fire risk, and shading—collectively referred to as “Three-Proof” capabilities.

Anti-Soiling Performance: Traditional PV modules with raised front-frame structures are prone to dust accumulation. Over time, rainwater can cause dust to harden and remain along module edges, creating persistent shading. According to professional measurements cited in the programme, just 9 cm of soiling-related shading can lead to approximately 23% power loss in conventional modules. By contrast, LONGi’s BC modules feature a structural design that facilitates water drainage and reduces dust retention, helping to protect long-term energy yield.

Fire Risk and Hotspot Mitigation: In a simulated extreme midday summer environment, conventional modules experiencing partial shading reached surface temperatures of up to 177°C. Under the same conditions, LONGi’s BC modules recorded temperatures of around 102°C, remaining stable even when in contact with external materials. This performance is attributed to LONGi’s BC cell architecture with a diode-like current management structure, which significantly reduces hotspot effects and the associated fire risks caused by abnormal heating.

Anti-Shading Performance: In shading performance tests, when two modules were subjected to the same shaded area – equipment driven by traditional modules nearly stopped operating, while BC modules maintained stable power output, effectively mitigating sharp efficiency drops caused by leaves, bird droppings, or other local obstructions.

Hi-MO X10 as the Integrated “Three-Proof” BC Module

The Hi-MO X10 module represents the commercial embodiment of LONGi’s BC technology, integrating anti-soiling, anti-fire-risk, and anti-shading capabilities into a single product.

Hi-MO X10 has received recognition from multiple authoritative institutions, including:

the China Photovoltaic Testing Center (CPVT),
TÜVRheinland, and
CGC (China General Certification).

With higher conversion efficiency, enhanced safety performance, and improved long-term investment returns, Hi-MO X10 has been widely adopted by market users and selected across a range of applications, particularly in rooftop, industrial and large public-building scenarios.

III. The Impact: From Manufacturing Excellence to Trustworthy Solar Deployment

By combining:

Lighthouse-level intelligent manufacturing,
ISO-certified net-zero production, and
publicly demonstrated performance validation,

LONGi provides a credible, end-to-end pathway from advanced manufacturing to safer, more reliable solar deployment.

This use case demonstrates how photovoltaic innovation can move beyond laboratory efficiency records, delivering verifiable gains in safety, reliability and real-world performance—while remaining aligned with global climate and decarbonisation goals.

Summary of Key Verified Outcomes

World’s first PV “Lighthouse + Net-Zero” factory (WEF + ISO 14068)
Automation rate: >90%; unit energy consumption: –20%
Soiling impact: ~23% power loss avoided under typical soiling conditions (BC design)
Fire risk mitigation: hotspot temperature reduced from ~177°C to ~102°C in comparative tests
Shading resilience: stable power output under partial shading
Representative product: Hi-MO X10 BC module with integrated “Three-Proof” capabilities