How can LONGi Green Energy continue to lead?

In the exhibition hall of the Xi 'an headquarters of Longji Green Energy (601012.SH), there is a share certificate on display, on which is printed the words "Xi 'an LONGi Silicon Materials Co., LTD.", the number 000086, the par amount of 10,000 yuan, representing 10,000 shares. "With ten years of dividends, stock grants and management equity incentives, the warrant is worth millions." The accompanying LONGi Green Energy instructor told the Times Weekly reporter.

Stock certificate

chart source: shot by Time Weekly reporter

This pre-IPO share issue to internal employees witnessed the development of Longji Green Energy.

LONGi Green Energy, founded in 2000, the initial name is Xi 'an Xinmeng Electronic Technology Co., LTD. Founder and chief executive Li Zhenguo, a man who claims to know "nothing but making monocrystalline silicon", has taken the company along with his dedication to monocrystalline silicon from "to make money for his family" to "to do something about climate change in the world". Over the past 22 years, Longji has grown into a leading company in the photovoltaic industry and the world's largest manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon wafers.

One morning in the summer of 2022, Li Zhenguo, dressed in a white shirt and black suit, sat down for an exclusive interview with TIME at the Xi 'an LONGi Green Energy headquarters. During the nearly 100-minute interview, Mr. Li did not dodge questions or beat around the bush.

LONGi Green Energy founder, President Li Zhenguo

Source: provided by the interviewee

When asked whether he would rather be an entrepreneur or a scientist, Li didn't hesitate and blurted out, "Or a scientist." Indeed, Mr. Lee speaks about technology with gusto and exuberance, his hands moving.

In 2020, a new energy revolution is under way as the country sets a goal of peaking carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. On May 16, 2022, "LONGi shares" was changed to "LONGi Green energy". Behind the name change, it seems to reflect Li Zhenguo's greater "ambition" -- to transform from a photovoltaic leader to a green energy leader, aiming to become the world's most valuable green energy technology company.

In an interview with Time Weekly, we also learned exclusively that Li Zhenguo, the founder and president of LONGi Green Energy, and Wang Shi, the honorary chairman of the board of directors of Vanke Group, will jointly launch a "carbon neutral action", calling on Chinese enterprises from all walks of life to participate in it with their own influence. "The initiative aims to demonstrate the firm commitment of businesses to respond to climate action and help achieve the global goal of carbon neutrality. If successful, it will be China's first enterprise-initiated, enterprise-dominated cross-industry "dual carbon" action platform. The action preparation group head, Vanke honorary chairman office director Wang Weiwei reveals to The Times weekly reporter.

"The Man With No Story"

In 2012, LONGi Green Energy was listed on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Its market value once exceeded 500 billion yuan, and it was called "Photovoltaic Mao" by the capital market. Its founder, Li Zhenguo, has also risen in value. In 2022, Li Zhenguo and his wife will be ranked 168th in the "2022 Hurun Global Rich List" with a fortune of 82 billion. Before that, Li Zhenguo had been the richest man in Shaanxi for four consecutive years.

But Mr. Li remained the same. "No boss, very simple." Longji green energy brand planning director Wang Huohuo and Times reporters said that Li Zhenguo in life and no change, daily consumption is simple, do not pay attention to eating, many times is a bowl of noodles.

Just as Huawei employees can always meet Ren Zhengfei in the canteen, in the canteen of LONGi Green Energy headquarters, President Li Zhenguo, Chairman Zhong Baoshen, vice president Li Wenxue, or other senior executives can also be seen.

"When I first came here, I saw the president standing at the end of the line, so I pointed it out to a colleague. My colleague answered once, then turned his head and continued to eat as if nothing had happened. A Longji Green Energy employee was talking to The Times in the canteen, while at a table not far away, Chairman Zhong Baoshen and several other employees were eating a well-known Shaanxi noodle dish -- dipping it in water.

Another LONGi Green Energy employee told The Times that the company is learning from Huawei in terms of organizational management. "The boss thinks Huawei is a very efficient company. If you want to be a successful company, maybe you need to be more down-to-earth." Looking back, Li Zhenguo's simplicity seems to coincide with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei's approach to life.

LONGi Green Energy can advocate a simple and not ostentatious culture, which is related to Li Zhenguo's character. In the eyes of LONGi green energy employees, Li Zhenguo does not have much of a story. Once in an interview, when the public relations department asked Li Zhenguo if he had any memorable events, he simply said, "I can't remember what happened, and I don't think it was hard anymore."

For Li Zhenguo, everything was natural, not thrilling, even the start-up and subsequent success. "I started my business just to support my family, and I didn't have any grand ambitions. I chose monocrystalline silicon as my business track because I couldn't do anything else." Li Zhenguo said frankly.

After graduating from the physics department of LAN University in 1990 and majoring in semi-conductor materials, Lee was assigned to work at the Huashan Semiconductor Materials Factory (state-run 741 Factory). However, "restless" he quit the "iron rice bowl" two years later, successively established Shanxi Wenxi Xinda electronic Parts factory, founded Fushun LONGi with his classmates, under the Xi 'an University of Technology factory single crystal base, etc.

In Li Zhenguo's opinion, this experience was just because the "iron rice bowl" at that time was stagnant and he chose to go into business in order to earn money to support his family. When he started his business in 2000, Li Zhenguo focused on the development, manufacturing and sales of semiconductorgrade monocrystalline silicon materials with which he was most familiar. In 2004, when the photovoltaic industry began to blow, Li Zhenguo, a silicon businessman, joined the fray.

In 2006, Xi 'an Xinmeng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. officially changed its name to LONGi Stock, "LONGi" from the old president of Lanzhou University, famous educator Jiang LONGi.

Xi 'an LONGi Green energy headquarters building

source: provided by the interviewee

"In terms of phases, I worked in monocrystalline silicon before 2006 because I majored in this field in university and my first job was to produce monocrystalline silicon. From 2006 to 2014, I led LONGi to develop monocrystalline silicon mainly from the perspective of technology, considering how to reduce the kilowatt-hour cost (the average cost of generating one kilowatt-hour of electricity) of photovoltaic power generation."

It all seemed so natural. When asked by a reporter, "Wasn't there a particularly dramatic and decisive turn?" Li Zhenguo answered "no" in a flat tone, he even attributed all this to his optimistic personality, "friends around say that you Li Zhenguo can find the positive factor in any bad thing."

Perhaps it is because of Li Zhenguo's character, LONGi green energy corporate culture also appears pure and uncomplicated.

Wang said she likes LONGi's open, inclusive and equal corporate culture, which allows her to speak her mind more boldly. "I have a direct personality, good is good, bad is bad, in the company I can speak directly without hiding other meaning, but maybe in many other companies, this is not very good."

After graduating with a master's degree in 2015, Wang Huohuo entered Longji Green as a management trainee. She admitted: "Actually, I got several offers at that time. When I was thinking about it, the human resources department of LONGi Green Energy called me and asked me when I would join the company. They also said that they were counting the benefits of Dragon Boat Festival for their employees and reported me. I thought, this is a good company for employees, so I came. And he stayed for seven years."

First principles

In fact, for a long period of time, Li Zhenguo was "silent to make money". Even during the toughest times of sticking to the monocrystalline silicon route, Mr. Li didn't feel special. "Because the company has always been profitable, I didn't feel like I was struggling. I just wanted to get the monocrystalline right because I insisted that was the right way to go."

About the story of persisting in monocrystalline silicon, Li Zhenguo told it more than once, and every time he would emphasize, "Many people think that LONGi Green can make monocrystalline silicon is a bet. In fact, we are not betting, but through first principles, based on the future, after detailed calculation and logical reasoning."

The so-called "first principles" is a term in computational physics, which refers to ab initio calculation, which does not require any experimental parameters, but only needs some basic physical constants to obtain the basic properties of the ground state of the system.

In Li Zhenguo's view, LONGi green can adhere to the first principle, that is, to get to the bottom of the matter, to find the most fundamental logic. In 2006, Li Zhenguo was very confident that single crystal silicon will be the future KWH cost reduction technology line, this is the LONGi green energy should adhere to the first principle of photovoltaic.

At that time, the cost of auxiliary materials in the PV industry chain, such as cement pile, bracket, glass and frame, was already very rigid. With some fluctuations in the market, there was little room for continuous cost reduction. The main channel for innovation and development of the PV industry should be to focus on improving battery conversion efficiency and expanding photovoltaic application scenarios.

At that time, the domestic PV market was still competing for the polycrystalline route. After in-depth investigation, LONGi Green Energy "went upstream" and established the development route of monocrystalline silicon sheet. "Considering cost reduction and efficiency improvement, the power conversion efficiency of monocrystalline silicon will be 1.5 to 2 percent higher than that of polysilicon in the same large-scale production." "Li Zhenguo said.

Choose the single crystal route, LONGi green energy has also had a "crisis moment". Wang Huohuo told TIME that in 2013, LONGi Green Energy became the world's largest single crystal silicon wafer, but at that time the single crystal market share was very small. At the end of 2014, China's share of single crystals was even 5 per cent, "which is actually very dangerous".

A decade later, Mr. Li's choice has been vindicated. The seesawing war of single polycrystal appeared a substantial turning point in 2016: the market share of single crystal products began to rise year by year, and the market situation was rewritten by a technology called "diamond wire cutting" promoted by LONGi Green, the leader of the single crystal camp. And the turning point of longji green energy, also happened in the "diamond wire cutting".

According to LONGi green calculation, mortar cutting a ton of silicon rod, about 300 pounds of steel wire, silicon carbide, polyethylene glycol, and diamond wire cutting, only 40 kg diamond wire can offset everything. However, at that time the diamond line cost is high, LONGi green can only cut the diamond line out of silicon wafers according to the cost of mortar cutting sold.

For the first five months, LONGi Green was stuck upside down. However, less than half a year, the cost of diamond wire cutting has fallen. This historic breakthrough not only fills the processing gap of LONGi green energy, but also saves about 12 billion yuan for the whole photovoltaic industry every year. Today, there are more than 40 billion a year.

Since then, the production cost of monocrystalline silicon wafer has decreased significantly with the large-scale industrial application of many times of crystal drawing, increasing the loading amount, rapid growth and diamond wire cutting, laminating and other technologies. In 2019, the market share of single crystal products exceeded that of polysilicon for the first time, achieving a comeback. Lee Jin-guk was the first one to make a successful counter-attack.

It is with the layout of monocrystalline silicon that LONGi Green Energy became the world's largest photovoltaic grade monocrystalline silicon wafer manufacturing enterprise in 2013, and from this, it has grown step by step.

The "conservative" LONGi

LONGi green energy conservative and stable pursuit, in the industry is very famous. From the financial results in recent years can also be seen, LONGi green energy debt ratio has been maintained at the level of 50%-60%. Li Zhenguo has also stressed in various speeches and interviews that the company needs to maintain a relatively abundant level of cash on its books to cope with the uncertainties of the world.

LONGi green can have two "military rules" very famous, the first is not leading not expansion, the second is not involved in the neck. This means that companies will only think about expanding if they are ahead in their industry. And only in the upstream and downstream stuck, will develop their own related industries.

Many believe that his steady style is due to his personality. In fact, in the eyes of LONGi Green Energy employees, "Zhenguo can always have 10 ideas a day". Li Zhenguo himself, however, seems more sober about his own understanding: "In business, one person cannot make the decision. Otherwise, the right decision will be implemented very quickly, and the wrong decision will be implemented very quickly."

This idea is from Li Zhenguo's initial "expansion". With the money he had made, he felt confident enough to arrange several projects for the company. As a result, imperfect management teams and no one alerted to bad decisions led to the failure of all of these projects.

In order to avoid the recurrence of mistakes, he decided to recruit the university alumnus Zhong Baoshen into the partnership, and generously give up the position of chairman, he became the president, only responsible for key issues, customers and markets; Later, Li Wenxue, a college classmate, was in charge of production and operation.

Based on Li Zhenguo's pattern, in the eyes of many LONGi Green-energy employees, Li Zhenguo and Zhong Baoshen are like a pair of best partners. They cooperate well and win every victory, thus opening a new chapter in the photovoltaic industry.

Employees of LONGi Green Energy told The Times that Chairman Zhong Baoshen is a wise and rational person who is mainly responsible for strategy and management within the group, while Li Zhenguo is more enthusiastic about technology. The two complement each other.

In 2008, it was Zhong Baoshen who set a red line for LONGi Green Energy: "The asset-liability ratio should be controlled within a certain limit. Investment cannot be financed because it cannot be quickly turned over. It's about making sure that all the projects have the money to fund themselves, without having to borrow money."

In addition to steadiness, Li Zhenguo told The Times that LONGi green energy is also aggressive. "If you are not sure about the direction, look at it carefully. But when we decide that the technology is going in the right direction, we have to commit resources without hesitation, and the team has to be determined to overcome whatever difficulties we encounter."

After becoming a leading photovoltaic enterprise, Li Zhenguo set his sights on the layout of hydrogen. "Hydrogen is an essential secondary energy source for further social decarbonization." 'Nearly 70 percent of China's energy consumption is not electricity, so solving the power problem is far from enough,' Mr. Li told TIME. In addition, only 42 percent of carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity. More emissions come from other sectors, such as energy and chemical industry, steel smelting, long-distance transportation, and urban cars. To reduce carbon dioxide emissions in these areas, higher energy and density of green energy -- hydrogen is needed.

Li Zhenguo believes that under the trend of landscape parity, the cost of photovoltaic power generation will decrease, and hydrogen production from renewable energy through electrolysis will become one of the most important ways of hydrogen production. It can be said that "photovoltaic + green hydrogen" is a perfect combination.

LONGi Green Energy began to conduct strategic research and layout of hydrogen energy industry chain since 2018. In March 2021, Xi 'an Longji Hydrogen Technology Co., Ltd. was established, which is based on the "green power + green hydrogen" mode and the future market prospects. As of the end of 2021, Longji Hydrogen has the production capacity of 500MW water electrolytic hydrogen production equipment.

In Li Zhenguo's view, moderation means not challenging common sense, treating the cause with a true scientific attitude, and not trying to overtake by small and wide curves.

Over the years, the photovoltaic industry has ups and downs, from 2011, the European Union, the United States against the implementation of China's "countervailing" (anti-dumping and countervailing) investigation, to 2018 "531 New Deal", etc., all links have been the leader of the "challenge" phenomenon, Longji green with the above attitude to today.

Economics of goodwill

In the LONGi Green Energy Exhibition Hall, there is a special electronic display board, which lists the energy provided by various energy sources on Earth, including tidal, geothermal, hydropower, biological, petroleum, coal and so on. And according to the data, every year the Earth receives more solar energy than all the energy on Earth combined.

Xi 'an LONGi Green Energy Exhibition Hall

Photo source: Time reporter photograph

Based on this, Li Zhenguo firmly believes that the development of photovoltaic is not only an industry, but also a great cause to deal with climate change and sustainable development. Open the official website of LONGi Green Energy, the most striking sentence is - to become the world's most valuable solar technology company.

In 2018, Li Zhenguo was attending a class for entrepreneurs and scholars at Tsinghua University. In the course, a former master of Trinity College, Cambridge, who is also a physicist, gave a lecture entitled "Earth in 2050". Inspired by the course, Li began to think about the role of new energy in restoring the Earth's ecology.

"Throughout the course, the 80-year-old man was filled with worries about the future of the Earth and the irreparable damage done to the earth's ecology over the past 100 years," Li told TIME. Therefore, I had interaction with the old gentleman in class and even had some arguments, because I thought he underestimated the role of photovoltaic in the future.

"The world is shifting from carbon energy to silicon energy represented by photovoltaic. Photovoltaic power generation is taking on the responsibility of energy transition and will also provide support for the global realization of carbon neutrality." It was also at that time that Li Zhenguo told TIME that he began to think about the significance of photovoltaics for preserving ecological diversity and restoring the Earth's ecology.

That is, in 2018, LONGi Green Energy put forward the sustainable development concept of "Solar for Solar" at the United Nations climate Change Conference COP24. It was also in that year that LONGi Green Energy released its first social responsibility report.

As for "Solar for Solar", Li Zhenguo explained to The Times that the basic idea is to use clean energy to produce more and cheaper clean energy. "When the whole PV manufacturing industry chain can be driven by clean energy, 'zero-carbon' production can be achieved. "The 'Solar for Solar' model, in which photovoltaic power generation drives photovoltaic products, will further effectively broaden the application scenarios of photovoltaic power generation and promote the wider use of photovoltaic power generation."

In Li Zhenguo's plan, photovoltaic can be used to desalinate seawater and irrigate the desert, thus greening the desert and increasing the vegetation coverage rate. When 70% of the earth's deserts become oases, it will absorb all the carbon emissions caused by human activities, realize real negative carbon development, and eventually make photovoltaic play a positive role in restoring the earth's ecology.

Li Zhenguo believes that "goodwill economics" is the concept of green energy development throughout LONGi. "Goodwill economics" is the idea that companies should do what is good for people and the planet. The progress of an enterprise, in addition to obtaining business success, contributes to the society, is also a sense of achievement. Promoting carbon neutrality across society has become one way to achieve this.

In 2019, LONGi Green Energy joined CCCA China Enterprise Climate Action and the United Nations Global Compact. In 2020, LONGi Green Energy became the only Chinese enterprise to join RE100, EP100, EV100 and Scientific Carbon Target (SBTi), and made corresponding target commitments respectively. In 2021, LONGi Green Energy launched the construction of the first "zero-carbon plant" in the photovoltaic industry, that is, in 2023, Baoshan LONGi production base will be built as the first "zero-carbon plant" in LONGi.

In September 2018, dozens of organizations including Vanke Charity Foundation and Alxa Foundation jointly launched the Chinese enterprise Climate Action to industrial and commercial enterprises, industry associations, environmental protection public welfare organizations, research institutions, media and other sectors of society. LONGi Green Energy joined this action in 2019.

Before a video of Wang Shi jumping on a photovoltaic panel circulated online, it was widely believed that photovoltaic panels were very delicate. This happened in 2021. Wang Shi visited LONGi Green Energy on behalf of "Enterprise Climate Action". In the dialogue with Li Zhenguo, both of them believed that as the leading enterprises in their respective industries, they should shoulder the responsibility and mission of affecting the progress of the industry.

Wang Shi visits LONGi Green Energy

Photo source: screenshot of Wang Shi's Tiktok account

Based on the background of energy transition, LONGi Green Energy Central Research Institute was officially put into operation in June 2022. Li Zhenguo told The Times that the establishment of central research institute will make the conversion efficiency of next-generation photovoltaic power generation higher and the cost lower. In terms of scenario-oriented applications, you can also build capabilities for new solutions.

As for the solution, Li Zhenguo told TIME: "Maybe in the future we can be like IBM, from hardware to strategic solutions, but not yet, our goal is still to be a device provider." However, even if Li Zhenguo still maintained a modest and cautious answer, but combined with LONGi renamed "LONGi green energy", the industry seems to foresee its larger layout.

challenge

In Li Zhenguo's eyes, seeking the lowest cost per kilowatt-hour has always been an unchanging goal. This point, Li Zhenguo in the interview with The Times reporters also repeatedly mentioned. Nowadays, LONGi green energy has become the leader of the domestic photovoltaic industry, but it has to face more and more risks.

These days, high industry costs are one. In 2021, influenced by the national "double carbon" target, new energy has become the focus of attention, a large amount of capital poured into the photovoltaic circuit, related enterprises have expanded production, leading to a sharp rise in silicon prices. In addition, the industry development bottleneck has arrived. At present, there are many problems, such as power rationing, delayed government subsidies, technological innovation and difficulty in financing.

So far, the photovoltaic industry has experienced many "baptism". Here, countless myths have been born, there are countless bubbles have burst, and between success and failure, separated by one after another technical difficulties.

The highlight moment for LONGi Green Energy has arrived. The next challenge waiting for Li Zhenguo is, how can the leader continue to lead?

隆基绿能何以继续领先？

在隆基绿能(601012.SH)西安总部的展览馆里，陈列着一张股权证，上面印着“西安隆基硅材料股份有限公司股票”字样，编号000086，票面金额人民币1万元，代表股份1万股。“算上十年的分红、送股、管理层股权激励，这张股权证已价值百万。”陪同的隆基绿能讲解员告诉时代周报记者。

股权证 图源：时代周报记者拍摄

这张上市前对内部员工发行的股票，见证了隆基绿能的发展。

隆基绿能，创立于2000年，初始名字为西安新盟电子科技有限公司。创始人兼总裁李振国，一个号称“除了做单晶硅其他什么也不会”的男人，从“为了赚钱养家”到“要为世界气候变化做点什么”，凭借着对单晶硅的执着，带着这家公司一路前行。二十二年过去，隆基绿能成长为光伏行业的龙头企业，也是全球最大的单晶硅片制造商。

2022年季夏的一个早晨，在西安隆基绿能总部大楼里，李振国身着白底衬衣、黑色西装，接受时代周报记者独家专访。近100分钟的采访中，李振国不回避问题、不兜圈子。

隆基绿能创始人、总裁李振国 图源：受访者提供

当被问及自己更想成为一名企业家还是科学家时，李振国并没有犹豫，脱口而出：“还是科学家。”的确，讲起技术的李振国滔滔不绝、情绪高涨，双手会不停地比划。

2020年，随着我国提出二氧化碳排放2030年前达到峰值、2060年前实现碳中和的目标，一场新的能源革命正在到来。2022年5月16日，“隆基股份”变更为“隆基绿能”，名字变更背后，似乎体现出李振国更大的“野心”——从光伏龙头转型绿色能源龙头，旨在成为全球最具价值的绿色能源科技公司。

时代周报记者在西安采访中亦独家获悉，隆基绿能创始人、总裁李振国与万科集团董事会名誉主席王石即将共同发起一场“碳中和行动”，以自身的影响力呼吁中国各行各业的企业都参与进来。“该行动旨在展示企业响应气候行动的坚定承诺，助力全球碳中和目标的实现。如果成功，这将是中国首个由企业发起的、以企业为主体的跨行业”双碳“行动平台。”该行动筹备组负责人、万科名誉主席办公室主任王唯唯向时代周报记者透露。

“没有故事的人”

2012年，隆基绿能在上交所主板挂牌上市，市值曾一度超过5000亿元，被资本市场称为“光伏茅”。其缔造者李振国，身价也水涨船高。2022年，李振国夫妇以820亿财富位列《2022家大业大酒·胡润全球富豪榜》第168名，此前，李振国四年蝉联陕西首富。

但李振国还是老样子。“没有老板架子，特别朴实。”隆基绿能品牌策划总监王火火与时代周报记者交谈时说到，李振国在生活上并没有变化，日常用度简单，吃饭不讲究，很多时候就是一碗面。

正如华为的员工总能在食堂碰见任正非一样，在隆基绿能总部的食堂里，也常常能看到总裁李振国、董事长钟宝申、副总裁李文学，亦或各个高管的身影。

“我刚来的时候，看到总裁排在队尾，就指给一个同事看，同事只应了一声，便转过头若无其事地继续打饭，丝毫没有要让的意思。”一位隆基绿能员工在食堂向时代周报记者介绍，而不远处的一张桌子上，董事长钟宝申正在和几个员工一起吃着陕西知名面食——蘸水面。

另一位隆基绿能的员工向时代周报记者透露，公司在组织管理上，正在向华为学习。“老板觉得华为是很高效的公司，想做一个有成就的企业，大概就需要更朴实无华。”回观李振国的朴素，似乎也与华为创始人任正非的为人处世不谋而合。

隆基绿能崇尚简单不浮夸的文化，这与李振国的性格有关。在隆基绿能员工的眼中，李振国并没有太多故事。曾经有一次采访，需要整理李振国的创业艰辛故事，公关部问他有没有什么难忘的事情，他只是淡淡地表示，“记不起来有什么事，走过来了，也不觉得有多难了”。

对于李振国来说，一切都是那么自然，并没什么惊心动魄，哪怕是创业，以及后来的成功。“最开始创业，就是为了养家糊口，并没有什么宏大志向，而且之所以选择单晶硅作为创业的赛道，是因为除了单晶硅，我也不会做别的。”李振国坦言道。

1990年，李振国从兰大物理系半导体材料专业毕业后，被分配到华山半导体材料厂（国营741厂）工作。不过，“不安分”的他在两年后辞掉“铁饭碗”，先后成立过山西闻喜信达电子配件厂，和同学创办过抚顺隆基、盘下过西安理工大学工厂单晶基地等。

这段经历在李振国看来，也不过是因为当时的“铁饭碗”不景气了，为了赚钱养家，才选择下海经商。2000年创业时，李振国主营自己最熟悉的半导体级单晶硅材料开发、制造与销售。2004年，光伏产业风口吹起，本就是做硅材料的李振国也加入到行列之中。

2006年，西安新盟电子科技有限公司正式更名为隆基股份，“隆基”取自兰州大学老校长、著名教育学家江隆基之名。

西安隆基绿能总部大楼 图源：受访者提供

“分阶段来看，2006年之前我做单晶硅，是因为大学学的这个专业，第一份工作也是生产单晶硅；2006年到2014年，带领隆基做单晶硅，主要是站在技术的角度，考虑如何把光伏发电的度电成本（发一度电的平均成本）降下来。”

一切似乎都是那么理所当然。当被记者问到：“就没有什么特别惊心动魄的决定性转折发生吗？”李振国回答“没有”的口气依旧平淡，他甚至把这一切归功于自己乐观的性格，“周围的朋友都说，你李振国能从任何一件坏事里，找到它的积极因素。”

或许正是由于李振国的性格，隆基绿能的企业文化亦显得纯粹不复杂。

王火火表示，自己喜欢隆基绿能的开放、包容、平等的企业文化，这让她可以更大胆地表达自己的想法。“我的个性比较直接，好就是好，不好就是不好，在公司内部我可以直接说出来，话里不隐藏别的意思，但可能在很多其他企业，这样不是特别好。”

2015年硕士毕业后，王火火作为管培生进入隆基绿能。她坦言：“其实当时拿到好几个offer，正在考虑的时候，隆基绿能人力资源部打来电话，问我什么时候入职，还说正在给员工统计端午福利，把我也报上了。我当时想，这个公司替员工考虑周到，应该不错，于是就来了。而且这一待就是7年。”

第一性原理

事实上，在很长一段时期里，李振国可谓是“闷声赚钱”。即使在坚持单晶硅路线最艰难的时期，李振国也觉得并不特别。“因为公司一直都是盈利的，所以我并没有感受到困境，只是一心想把单晶硅做好，因为我坚持认为，这就是正确的路线。”

关于坚持单晶硅的故事，李振国不只一次地讲起，而每一次他都会强调，“很多人觉得隆基绿能做单晶硅是赌对了，其实我们不是赌，而是通过第一性原理，在立足未来的基础之上，经过详细的计算和逻辑推理出来的。”

所谓“第一性原理”，是计算物理名词，指的是从头计算，不需要任何实验参数，只需要一些基本的物理常量，就可以得到体系基态的基本性质的原理。

在李振国看来，隆基绿能坚持的第一性原理，即刨根问底，找到事情最根本的逻辑。2006年，李振国很笃定，单晶硅将是未来度电成本降低的技术路线，这就是隆基绿能该坚持的光伏第一性原理。

在当时，水泥桩、支架、玻璃、边框等光伏产业链上的辅材，成本已经非常刚性，随着市场有些波动，但持续降本的空间很小，故光伏产业创新与发展的主航道，应该是聚焦电池转换效率提升、拓展光伏应用场景等。

彼时，国内光伏市场还在争夺多晶路线，在进行深入调研后，隆基绿能“逆流而上”，确立了单晶硅片的发展路线。“考虑降本增效，同样是大规模量产，单晶硅的电能转换效率会比多晶硅高1.5%-2%。”李振国谈到。

选择单晶路线，隆基绿能也曾有过“危机时刻”。王火火向时代周报记者讲述，2013年，隆基绿能虽然成为全球单晶硅片的老大，但彼时单晶市场的份额非常小。2014年底，中国单晶的份额甚至只有5%，“这其实是非常危险的”。

十年后，李振国的选择被证明是对的。单多晶的拉锯战，在2016年出现了实质性的转折点：单晶产品的市占率开始逐年上扬，市场局势被单晶阵营领头羊隆基绿能主推的一项名为“金刚线切割”的技术所改写。而隆基绿能的转折，也发生在“金刚线切割”上。

据隆基绿能测算，砂浆切割一吨硅棒，约耗材钢线、碳化硅、聚乙二醇各300斤，而金刚线切割，只40公斤金刚线就能抵消一切。不过，当时金刚线成本高，隆基绿能只能把金刚线切割出来的硅片按照砂浆切割的成本卖出。

起初的5个月，隆基绿能一直在“倒贴”。然而不到半年，金刚线切割的成本就降了下来。这个历史性突破不但填补上了隆基绿能的加工缺口，后面更是每年为整个光伏产业节省了120亿元左右。到今天，这个数字超过了400亿每年。

此后，随着多次拉晶、增大装料量、快速生长以及金刚线切割、薄片化等技术的大规模产业化应用，单晶硅片生产成本大幅下。2019年，单晶产品的占有率首次超过了多晶硅，第一次实现了反超。李振国作为“第一个吃螃蟹的人”，成功实现了逆袭。

正是凭借对单晶硅的布局，2013年，隆基绿能成为全球最大的光伏级单晶硅片生产制造企业，并由此一步步壮大。

“保守”的隆基人

隆基绿能的保守与追求稳健，在行业内很出名。从近几年财报亦可以看出，隆基绿能的负债率一直保持在50%-60%的水平。李振国也在不同场合的演讲和采访中强调，公司账面现金要保持比较充裕的水平，才能应对这个世界的不确定性。

隆基绿能有两条“军规”非常著名，第一条是不领先不扩产，第二条是不卡脖子不介入。意思是说，只有在行业里做到领先了，公司才会考虑扩张；而只有在上下游被卡住，才会自己发展相关的产业。

不少人认为，这样稳健的风格，是源于李振国的性格。事实上，在隆基绿能员工看来，“振国总可能一天有10个点子”。而李振国本人，对自己的认识似乎更加清醒：“做企业，不能一个人说了算。否则，正确的决定会被很快执行，同样的，错误的决定也会被很快执行。”

这样的想法，正是源于李振国最初的“膨胀”。因为挣到钱了，他自信满满地为公司安排了好几个项目。结果，公司管理团队不完善，加上错误决策无人提醒，导致这些项目无一例外，全都失败了。

为了避免错误再次发生，他决定拉上大学校友钟宝申入伙，并且大方的把董事长的职位让出，自己则成为总裁，只负责重点事项、客户和市场；后来又拉上大学同学李文学，主管生产运营。

正是基于李振国的这种格局，在不少隆基绿能员工看来，李振国和钟宝申就像一对最佳拍档，配合默契，无往不胜，就此掀开了光伏行业的新篇章。

隆基绿能员工对时代周报记者介绍，董事长钟宝申是一个睿智、理性的人，在集团内主要负责战略和管理工作，而李振国则对技术更有热情，两个人形成了互补。

2008年，也正是钟宝申为隆基绿能设定了一个红线：“资产负债率控制在一定限度内，投资不能融资，因为它不能快速周转。这就要保证所有项目都是自己有钱把它投下来，不需要去借钱。”

在稳健之外，李振国对时代周报记者表示，隆基绿能也是有进取心的。“对于不确定的方向，看清楚了再说。但确定技术方向是正确的时候，我们就要义无反顾地投入资源，不管遇到什么样的困难，团队都要下定决心克服它。”

在成为光伏的龙头企业后，李振国把目光盯在了氢能的布局上。“在进行更进一步的社会脱碳时，氢能是不可或缺的二次能源形态。”李振国对时代周报记者表示，中国近70%的能源消耗并非电力，所以只解决电力问题远远不够；另外，二氧化碳排放只有42%来自于电力，更多的排放来自别的领域，比如能源化工、钢铁冶炼、长距离运输、城市乘车等，要减少这些领域的二氧化碳排放，则需要更高能量、密度的绿色能源——氢。

李振国认为，在风光平价趋势下，光伏发电成本下降，可再生能源通过电解制氢将成为最主要的制氢方式之一。可以说，“光伏+绿氢”是一个完美组合。

隆基绿能从2018年起就开始对氢能产业链进行战略研究、着手布局，2021年3月，西安隆基氢能科技有限公司的成立，正是基于对“绿电+绿氢”模式及未来市场前景的看好。截至2021年底，隆基氢能已经具备500MW电解水制氢设备的生产能力。

在李振国看来，所谓稳健，就是不挑战常识，按真正的科学态度对待事业，别试图以小博大和弯道超车。

这些年来，光伏行业跌宕起伏，从2011年欧盟、美国针对中国施行的“双反”（反倾销和反补贴）调查，到2018 年的“531 新政”等，各个环节的龙头均有过被“打下擂台”的现象，隆基绿能凭借着上述的态度走到了今天。

善意经济学

在隆基绿能展览馆里，有一个特殊的电子展板，上面分别列出了地球上各种能源所能提供的能量，包括潮汐、地热、水电、生物、石油、煤炭等。而根据数据显示，每年地球接收的太阳能大于地球上所有能量的总和。

西安隆基绿能展览馆 图源：时代周报记者拍摄

基于此，李振国坚定不移地认为，发展光伏不仅仅是一个产业，更是应对气候变化和可持续发展的大业。打开隆基绿能的官网，最醒目的一句话是——成为全球最具价值的太阳能科技公司。

2018年，李振国正在清华的一个企业家学者班上课。课程中，一位剑桥大学三一学院的前院长，也是一个物理学家，讲了一节课，题目为“2050年的地球”。受到课程启发，李振国开始思索新能源对于地球生态的修复作用。

李振国对时代周报记者回忆道，“整个课程中，这位80岁的老先生充满着对地球未来的担忧，并且认为过去100年人类对地球生态的破坏不可修复。所以在课堂上我跟老先生有互动交流，甚至有些争论，因为我认为他低估了光伏未来的作用。

“全球正在从碳能源转向以光伏为代表的硅能源，光伏发电正承担起能源转型的重任，也将为全球实现碳中和提供支撑。”李振国对时代周报谈到，也是从那个时候起，他开始思考光伏对于保护生态多样性和修复地球生态的意义。

也就是在2018年，隆基绿能在联合国气候变化大会COP24上提出“Solar for Solar”的可持续发展理念，也正是那一年，隆基绿能发布了首份社会责任报告。

所谓“Solar for Solar”，李振国对时代周报记者解释，其根本理念就是用清洁能源制造出更多更便宜的清洁能源，“当光伏制造的全产业链，都能使用清洁能源驱动时，就可以实现‘零碳’生产。而以光伏发电驱动光伏产品制造的‘Solar for solar’模式，将进一步有效拓宽光伏发电的应用场景，推动光伏发电的更广泛使用。”

在李振国的规划里，可以利用光伏进行海水淡化、沙漠灌溉，起到绿化荒漠、提高植被覆盖率的作用。当地球70%荒漠变成绿洲时，就会吸收人类活动以来造成的所有碳排放，实现真正的负碳发展，最终使光伏起到修复地球生态的积极作用。

李振国认为，“善意经济学”是贯穿隆基绿能发展的理念。所谓“善意经济学”，即企业应该做对人类和地球有益处的事。企业的进步，除了获得商业成功之外，对社会作出贡献，也是一种成就感。致力于推动全社会的碳中和行动，已经成为其获取这种成就感的路径之一。

2019 年，隆基绿能加入CCCA 中国企业气候行动和联合国全球契约组织；2020 年，隆基绿能成为唯一一家加入RE100、EP100、EV100 和科学碳目标（SBTi）的中国企业，并分别作出了相应的目标承诺；2021 年，隆基绿能启动了光伏行业首个“零碳工厂”建设，即2023 年将把保山隆基生产基地打造为隆基首个“零碳工厂”。

而2018年9月，由万科公益基金会、阿拉善基金会等数十家机构向工商企业、行业协会、环保公益组织、研究机构、媒体等社会各界联合发起中国企业气候行动，隆基绿能于2019年便加入这一行动。

网上曾流传一段视频，王石在一块光伏板上跳来跳去，在此之前，大众普遍认为，光伏板是很娇气的东西。这个事情发生在2021年，王石代表“企业气候行动”走访了隆基绿能，在与李振国的对话中，二人均认为，作为各自行业头部的企业，更应承担影响行业进步的责任与使命。

王石参观隆基绿能 图源：王石抖音账号截图

基于能源转型的大背景，2022年6月，隆基绿能中央研究院也正式投用。李振国向时代周报记者介绍，中央研究院的成立，可以让下一代光伏发电的转换效率变得更高，同时成本更低；在场景化应用方面，也可以建立起新的解决方案的能力。

关于解决方案，李振国对时代周报记者坦言：“或许未来我们可以像IBM那样，从硬件转型到战略解决方案，但现在还不行，我们现在的目标，依然是设备提供商。”然而，即便李振国依然保持着谦虚谨慎的回答，但结合隆基改名为“隆基绿能”，业界似乎预见了其更大的布局。

挑战

在李振国眼里，寻求最低的度电成本，一直是未曾改变过的目标。这一点，李振国在接受时代周报记者采访时也不断提及。如今，隆基绿能虽然已成为国内光伏产业龙头，但其要面临的风险也越来越多。

现下，产业成本过高便是其一。2021年，受国家“双碳”目标影响，新能源成为万众瞩目的焦点，一时间大量资本涌入光伏赛道，相关企业纷纷扩产，导致硅料价格大幅攀升。此外，行业发展瓶颈也已经到来。目前，弃光限电、政府补贴拖欠、技术革新以及融资难度大等问题纷至沓来。

发展至今，光伏行业已经经历过多次“洗礼”。在这里，无数造富神话曾经诞生，也有无数泡沫曾经破灭，而成败之间，隔着的是一个又一个的技术难关。

属于隆基绿能的高光时刻已然到来，等待李振国的下一个挑战是，领先者如何继续领先？