Case Study: PV Module Smart Warehouse Benchmark

As the photovoltaic (PV) industry enters the era of high-efficiency, large-scale production, how do 25GW ultra-large manufacturing bases tackle key challenges including limited warehouse space, inefficient material circulation and poor compatibility with multi-specification products? The answer lies in the tailor-made intelligent automated warehouse developed for Tongwei.

As a leading enterprise in PV silicon materials and solar cells, Tongwei Co., Ltd. has built a 25GW high-efficiency PV module manufacturing base in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. To address the warehousing bottlenecks brought by ultra-large production capacity, Huashine Intelligent provided a full-process intelligent automated warehousing solution. We built an efficient, stable and expandable intelligent storage system for Tongwei’s Nantong base, creating a benchmark for intelligent warehousing of ultra-large PV modules across the industry.

Core Industry Pain Points

Traditional warehousing modes can no longer match the 25GW super-scale production capacity, resulting in prominent space shortages and low operational efficiency, with the core pain points summarized as follows:

Insufficient Storage Space: The limited warehouse area fails to support bulk storage of finished PV modules under high-capacity production;

High Pallet Loss Rate: Conventional wooden pallets have inconsistent quality and are prone to damage. Falling wood debris also interferes with normal warehouse operations;

Multi-specification Adaptability Issues: Diversified product dimensions cannot be fully adapted by traditional storage and handling equipment;

Low Operational Efficiency: Crossed inbound and outbound operation routes hinder parallel high-efficiency warehousing workflows;

Customized Full-Process Intelligent Solution

Tailored to the on-site operational demands of Tongwei’s Nantong base, Huashine Intelligent developed a customized smart AS/RS warehouse, fully adapted to the ultra-large size and heavy load characteristics of PV modules. The integrated intelligent warehousing system consists of automated stereoscopic racks, stacker cranes, RGVs, intelligent conveyor lines and a centralized management and control system.

Inbound Process: Finished modules delivered from production workshops are transported to the warehouse area via vertical elevators and connecting overhead conveyors. Circular RGVs automatically distribute materials to designated aisles, and stacker cranes complete precise automated storage;

Outbound Process: The intelligent system automatically dispatches tasks, and the circular conveyor system rapidly delivers products to the outbound platform, with real-time order information synchronously displayed on terminal screens;

Rework & Material Return: A dedicated mezzanine rework area supports full-process operations including depalletizing, reprocessing, repalletizing and strapping, enabling defective products to be quickly returned to the workshop for rework;

Intelligent Conveyor Scheduling: The dual connecting conveyor system serving Workshop M1 and M2 supports reverse material transmission and automatic faulty line switching, ensuring uninterrupted production and logistics operation;

Delivered Customer Benefits

• Significantly improved warehouse space utilization, fully meeting the long-term bulk storage requirements for the 25GW high-capacity production base;

• Full-process automated operations minimize manual intervention, greatly boosting overall logistics operation efficiency;

• Digital centralized management realizes full inventory transparency, traceable operational data and real-time early warning of abnormal conditions;

• The project has become a typical model for digital, intelligent and automated smart factory transformation in the PV industry.

As Huashine Intelligent’s flagship benchmark project in the PV module industry, this project has set leading industry records in the unit storage specification and load capacity of PV module handling systems, fully demonstrating our professional technical strength in ultra-large-size and high-load intelligent warehousing. Moving forward, adhering to technological innovation, Huashine Intelligent will continue to deliver more efficient, stable and intelligent warehousing solutions for the new energy sector, empowering the digital and intelligent upgrading of the global photovoltaic industry.