[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] Unittest is showing strong performance. The news that it is promoting window-type or wall-attached solar power business based on world-class 'perovskite solar cell' technology appears to have influenced its stock price.
At 10:25 AM on the 7th, Unittest was trading at 22,400 KRW, up 25.49% from the previous trading day. During the session, it rose to 23,200 KRW, setting a new all-time high.
Korea Electric Power Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding for technological cooperation with Unittest last month to commercialize glass window-type solar cells. Glass window-type solar cells are semi-transparent and lightweight solar cells that can be attached to building exteriors such as walls or glass windows. This eco-friendly power generation technology is suitable for Korea, where land for solar installation is limited and there are many high-rise buildings.
Unlike large-scale corporate solar power generation, the biggest advantage is its low cost. It can be easily generated in each household, and electricity bill savings can also be enjoyed. Considering these advantages, the government is working on improving laws and systems, and the industry is accelerating the development of window-type or wall-attached solar power technology.
In November last year, Unittest raised the photoelectric conversion efficiency of its perovskite solar cell module to 14.8%, receiving certification from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory under the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the highest efficiency in the Sub-module (200~800cm²) category worldwide. Unlike silicon, perovskite solar cells can be manufactured with flexible materials, allowing attachment to curved surfaces and thus offering high versatility. Being semi-transparent, they can be stacked on existing silicon solar cells to significantly improve efficiency. They can be used for window applications enabling building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) as well as vehicle-integrated photovoltaics (VIPV). Unittest expects that once the business is on a normal track, it can change the paradigm of the existing solar cell market.
Wooje Jeon, a researcher at Heungkuk Securities, explained, "Earlier this year, Panasonic recorded an efficiency of 16.1%, changing the rankings," but added, "Unittest is competing for the top 1 or 2 positions in PSC large-area production technology essential for commercialization."
He continued, "PSC cells cost about 10~33% of silicon cells and have comparable photoelectric efficiency," and introduced, "Unittest is individually researching tandem solar cell commercialization."
He estimated, "Unittest will achieve sales of 152.7 billion KRW and operating profit of 14 billion KRW this year, with profits increasing rapidly," and projected, "In 2023, sales will reach 673.8 billion KRW and operating profit 180.2 billion KRW."
Researcher Jeon analyzed, "This is because semiconductor performance recovery and new PSC sales will be added," assuming "Unittest will record a 2% market share in the global PSC market."
He also emphasized, "Unittest possesses essential PSC large-area production technology for commercialization and has technology levels competing for first or second place worldwide," adding, "The global PSC module market will grow to 14.7 trillion KRW by 2023."
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