Plans to Invest 282 Million in Germanium Project for Space Solar Cells; Yunnan Germanium Industry States Urgent Need to Expand Capacity

China's commercial space sector is developing rapidly. Yunnan Germanium Co., Ltd. (002428.SZ) plans to invest nearly 300 million yuan in a germanium wafer construction project for space solar cells.

This evening, Yunnan Germanium announced that it plans a total investment of 282 million yuan to implement the "Germanium Wafer Construction Project for Space Solar Cells."

Specifically, the project is planned to be carried out by Zhongke Xinyuan, which will lease factory buildings within its existing production site, adding 115 sets of major process equipment and auxiliary facilities. The construction period is 18 months. Based on the existing capacity, new capacity will be added, reaching an annual production capacity of 1.25 million germanium wafers (calculated as 4-inch equivalents) by the end of 2025. Upon project completion, the annual production capacity will reach 2.5 million germanium wafers. The funding sources are self-owned funds and loans from financial institutions.

In February, the company stated on the investor interaction platform that, as of now, its production capacity for PV-grade germanium single crystal wafers (substrate wafers) for solar cells is 300,000 wafers/year (4-inch) and 200,000 wafers/year (6-inch).

Regarding the reasons for investing in the above project, the company stated that in recent years, the global low-orbit communication satellite network has entered a period of rapid development, leading to a rapid increase in market demand for germanium wafers. The current capacity of germanium wafers at Zhongke Xinyuan, the company's majority-owned subsidiary, does not match the growing market demand. The company urgently needs to expand capacity to seize market share and meet the rapidly growing demand in downstream markets.

It is reported that germanium wafers are primarily used in space satellites, space stations, and other deep-space equipment for space satellite batteries. They possess numerous characteristics such as radiation resistance, anti-degradation, and high conversion efficiency, making them a key material for producing satellite solar cells.

In terms of economic benefits, the company expects that after reaching full production, the project will achieve an average annual sales revenue of 572.5 million yuan and a total profit of approximately 100 million yuan.

At the same time, the company issued a risk warning, stating that the economic benefit estimates for the project are based on current market conditions and do not represent a performance commitment for the project. Whether these benefits can be realized depends on factors such as project progress, the macroeconomic environment, market changes, and the efforts of the management team, and there is a certain degree of uncertainty.

It is worth noting that on March 5, Premier Qiang Li mentioned in the "Government Work Report" while outlining this year's government work tasks that "large-scale application demonstration actions for new technologies, new products, and new scenarios will be carried out to promote the safe and healthy development of emerging industries such as commercial space, low-altitude economy, and deep-sea technology."

From the positioning perspective, the 2025 "Government Work Report" redefined commercial space from being a "new growth engine" in 2024 to an "emerging industry," which industry insiders believe indicates rapid progress in the industrialisation of China's commercial space sector.

According to institutional forecast data, China's satellite internet market size is expected to reach 64.8 billion yuan in 2024 and 151.2 billion yuan in 2030, with a CAGR of 15% from 2024 to 2030.