Aiko Solar Energy, one of China’s main suppliers of photovoltaic cells, said it will spend CNY10 billion (USD1.39 billion) to build a new plant to make high-efficiency solar cells to gradually replace its outdated facilities.

The project will make N-type tunnel oxide passivated contact, or TOPCon, solar cells with better photoelectric conversion efficiency and have an annual production capacity of 25 gigawatts, the Shanghai-based firm announced late yesterday. It will be located in Chuzhou, eastern Anhui province, it added.

The project will be invested in and built in two phases, Aiko Solar pointed out. The first phase, costing CNY6 billion (USD833.5 million), will likely become operational at the end of this year and have a production capacity of 15 GW a year, it noted.

The N-type TOPCon solar cells are rapidly replacing traditional P-type cells, Aiko Solar said. Many of the company’s clients have expressed an urgent demand and hope of purchasing TOPCon solar cells, it added.

The appearance of the N-type high-efficiency solar cells is forcing suppliers with relatively good production capability of P-type cells, such as Aiko Solar, to proactively advance their capacity-related transformation.

Last week, Aiko Solar announced a plan to invest around CNY2.7 billion to revamp its old 25 GW P-type solar cell factory, located in its production base in Yiwu, southeastern Zhejiang province, into a TOPCon solar cells plant.

Shares of Aiko Solar [SHA: 600732] fell 0.7 percent to CNY15.08 (USD2.19) apiece as of 1.05 p.m. in Shanghai today, after dropping by as much as 0.9 percent in the morning trading session.