In November, Chengdu will once again capture global attention. The 9th China International Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Industry Conference 2026 will be grandly held in Chengdu, China, from November 17 to 20. The conference’s brand-new theme, “Integration of PV+ESS, Co-building of Ecology, and Chain-powered Future,” has been officially announced. This new theme not only represents an iterative upgrade of the conference’s philosophy, but also serves as a declaration of the times for China’s PV+ESS industry as it anchors its direction, pools its strength, and advances toward high-quality development. At present, the global push toward the dual carbon goals continues to deepen, and the energy transition is accelerating. Based on the broader industry development trends, the conference takes the theme as its core thread, focusing on three key areas: the integrated development of PV+ESS, industrial ecosystem synergy, and value mining across the entire industry chain. It will build a high-end platform for global exchange and cooperation, technological collisions, and resource matchmaking. Let us delve into the core theme of this conference and explore how this global grand event for the PV+ESS industry will lead the sector to breakthrough upgrades and steer it toward a brand-new future.

Indian PV manufacturer and EPC company HVR Solar plans to enter solar cell manufacturing with a 1.2GW annual production facility in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. The company signed MoUs with several international technology partners during SNEC 2026, including Shenzhen Han’s Photovoltaic Equipment for TOPCon cell equipment, Gentech Technology for chemical and gas utility systems, and Indygreen Technologies for production line integration. HVR said the project will support India’s domestic renewable supply chain, reduce import reliance and create more than 500 direct jobs

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of the largest IKEA retailer Ingka Group, has acquired its first two operational solar parks in Spain, expanding its renewable energy footprint across the Iberian market. The acquisition includes the La Oliva Solar Farm in Toledo and a second project in Murcia, which are expected to generate 51 GWh and 55 GWh annually, respectively. Combined, the two facilities will pump 106 GWh of clean electricity into the grid each year. This move builds on Ingka Group's broader strategy to green its value chain, following a 440 MW solar capacity purchase in Germany and Spain in 2022. It also complements Ingka Investments' recent project in Portugal, where the company hybridized an existing wind farm with solar panels. Together, these new Spanish assets and the upgraded Portuguese site are projected to drive the group's total Iberian renewable energy output to 323 GWh per year. To date, Ingka Group has invested or committed a staggering €4.3 billion globally into renewable energy initiatives.

Spanish renewable energy developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) has announced that it has secured 2.3GW of grid connection capacity in Germany for the development of battery energy storage (BESS), solar, and hybrid energy projects, with the relevant projects expected to progressively reach "Ready to Build" (RTB) status between 2026 and 2029. The projects are mainly distributed across the states of Brandenburg, Lower Saxony, and North Rhine-Westphalia, covering standalone storage, solar, and hybrid solar-storage projects. Among them, a 750MW storage project in Brandenburg is nearing construction permit approval; the Lower Saxony portfolio totals nearly 700MW, including a 600MW battery storage facility, a 13.8MW solar plant, and three hybrid projects; while North Rhine-Westphalia is planning a portfolio exceeding 900MW in total scale, including a 900MW/3,600MWh battery storage facility. FRV stated that, against the backdrop of widespread grid connection constraints facing large-scale renewable energy projects in Germany, securing transmission grid access capacity in advance will provide critical assurance for project development. The company plans to deploy 2-hour and 4-hour duration storage systems, storing surplus renewable energy and releasing it during peak demand periods to enhance grid flexibility and renewable energy absorption capacity, supporting Germany's energy transition.

Fed Hawkish Signals Exceed Expectations; Precious Metals Under Short-Term Pressure but Downside Limited June 18 — At 2:00 AM Beijing Time on June 18, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%, marking the fourth consecutive hold. The statement was significantly shortened in length and removed language hinting at further rate cuts. The dot plot showed nine officials expect a rate hike this year, while newly appointed Chairman Warsh did not submit a dot plot and declined to provide forward guidance. Hawkish signals pushed market pricing for a year-end rate hike up to 38 basis points. From a policy perspective, this FOMC meeting delivered hawkish signals that exceeded market expectations. Combined with the return of rate-hike expectations in the dot plot, it signals that the Fed's communication tone has shifted from "pause and watch" to "potential hiking," putting near-term pressure on precious metals. However, the fourth consecutive hold itself was in line with market expectations, and any actual rate hike still requires more data for validation, so the marginal impact of the policy signal itself is relatively limited. More critically, earlier economic data — U.S. May nonfarm payrolls rose by 172,000, beating expectations, with a combined upward revision of 93,000 for March-April — underscores that labor market resilience remains the most significant headwind suppressing rate-cut expectations and is the core bearish factor for precious metals recently. By contrast, May headline CPI matched expectations while core CPI came in slightly below consensus, meaning inflation data did not reinforce the tightening narrative beyond expectations, and its bearish impact is comparatively moderate. On balance, precious metals face dual pressure from hawkish policy signals and labor market resilience, but the elevated rate-hike expectations are still in the pricing-in phase, and the market may not form a systemic downward resonance at current levels. The trading logic will continue to hinge on subsequent nonfarm payrolls, CPI data, and actual communication from Warsh. US-Iran Peace Talks Advance; Geopolitical Risk Premium Unwinds June 18 — The presidents of the United States and Iran have signed an electronic memorandum of understanding (MoU). The official 14-point text largely matches prior media disclosures, and both sides are set to formally sign the agreement in Switzerland on Friday. Trump stated that if follow-up implementation of the MoU falls short of satisfaction, bombing operations would resume, and also revealed discussions with Syrian leaders on striking Hezbollah. Meanwhile, southern Lebanon witnessed multiple Israeli attacks, and Israel's finance minister indicated no withdrawal on Friday or thereafter. The geopolitical situation remains in a complex tug-of-war characterized by "negotiations alongside conflict." In the near term, the signing of the MoU marks a substantive phase in ceasefire negotiations, with market expectations for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz strengthening, leading to further unwinding of the risk premium. Should the formal agreement be finalized on Friday, structural concerns over crude supply would materially ease, putting downward pressure on the oil price center, which in turn would cool global inflation expectations. From a medium-to-long-term perspective, if sustained oil weakness drives down energy costs, the Fed's monetary policy room would reopen, and market logic could gradually shift from "tightening expectations" toward a "rate-cut cycle," potentially offering new macro support for precious metals. Overall, US-Iran relations are currently in a phase of "peace talks advancing, conflicts unresolved," and market pricing will revolve around Friday's agreement implementation and subsequent execution risks in a repeated back-and-forth manner. Early Hiking Cycle Pressure Does Not Alter Long-Term Logic; Precious Metals' Allocation Value Remains Prominent Historical experience shows that in the early stages of every rate-hiking cycle, precious metals typically come under pressure from rising nominal rates and a stronger dollar, but the trend is not unidirectional downward. As the hiking cycle deepens, growing concerns over recession risks and liquidity stress increasingly highlight gold's role as an inflation hedge and safe-haven asset, with its price center tending to rise in the middle-to-late stages. Therefore, even if the Fed continues on a hawkish path, the pressure on precious metals may not be sustained; liquidity conditions and shifts in macro expectations also influence price dynamics. Of course, our overall bullish long-term logic for precious metals remains unchanged: First, global central banks continue to accumulate gold, with de-dollarization and reserve diversification strategies providing a solid floor for gold prices. Second, the U.S. dollar's credit system faces deep erosion — high interest rates on U.S. Treasuries imply high risk, and over the long run, U.S. debt rollover pressures and fiscal indiscipline are accelerating global de-dollarization. Third, the ever-expanding U.S. government debt stock and deteriorating fiscal sustainability raise the risk of future debt monetization and dollar depreciation. As a non-liability, supra-sovereign hard asset, gold's safe-haven and store-of-value functions hold irreplaceable appeal in the current macro environment. At the same time, geopolitical conflicts continue to simmer without truly subsiding, while global supply chains and energy markets remain volatile, with inflation persistence lingering. These uncertainties will collectively underpin the demand for gold and silver as safe-haven allocation assets, further boosting their strategic value over the medium-to-long term. From the Gold/Silver Ratio Perspective: Silver Under Pressure in the Short Term, but Outperforming Gold in the Medium-to-Long Term Remains Intact Historically, the gold/silver ratio exhibits significant mean-reverting behavior, with its long-term center roughly fluctuating between 60 and 70. However, under extreme macro environments, it can deviate markedly — for instance, the ratio widened sharply after the 2008 financial crisis and approached a historical extreme near 120 during the 2020 pandemic. The underlying dynamic is that during extreme risk-off episodes, the market prioritizes gold as a safe-haven asset, while silver, burdened by its industrial metal characteristics, tends to face systematic selling. Thus, the gold/silver ratio's cyclical movement can be summarized as: widening during crises (silver underperforms) and narrowing during recovery/inflation cycles (silver outperforms). Its essence is a cyclical indicator driven by the alternating dominance of safe-haven attributes versus industrial attributes. In the near term, the gold/silver ratio is more prone to stage-wise upward moves or range-bound drift with an upward bias. On one hand, silver has already posted notable gains, with crowded positioning making it more vulnerable to pullback pressure. On the other hand, the photovoltaic industry — a key pillar of silver industrial demand — is expected to see cell silver consumption decline by 9.51% year-over-year in 2026, and with ongoing silver-reduction progress and evolving cell product structures, annual silver consumption is projected to maintain a roughly 5 percentage-point decline through 2030. Although positive terminal installation expectations may boost cell production volumes, translating to some incremental demand, when converted to silver demand, a roughly 20% decline is anticipated this year. Over the long cycle, 2026 also marks a pivotal turning point in silver's industrial demand structure. The low-voltage electrical equipment sector, as a rigid support segment, exhibits strong irreplaceability in its silver demand. Emerging sectors such as new energy vehicles, PCBs, and SiC chips are rapidly expanding their end-market bases, and despite unchanged unit silver consumption, overall demand continues to grow steadily. Therefore, we maintain our core view that the gold/silver ratio will trend downward in the medium-to-long term — i.e., we are constructive on silver outperforming gold. The driving logic will gradually shift from rates and liquidity toward energy transition and industrial demand. Silver is transforming from a traditional precious metal into a strategically important industrial metal with rising exposure to photovoltaics, AI data centers, and grid upgrades, while supply remains highly inelastic due to its heavy dependence on lead-zinc and copper byproduct production. Once the global economy enters a rate-cutting cycle or real rates decline, silver's industrial elasticity will significantly amplify its upside potential, whereas gold, supported more by central bank buying and safe-haven demand, tends to follow a smoother trajectory.

According to Ningbo Customs, exports of the city's "New Three" products — electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products — reached RMB 28.51 billion in the first five months of 2026, up 138.4% year-on-year. Among them, lithium-ion battery exports totaled RMB 5.95 billion, up 57.9% from a year earlier.

Antimony prices fell sharply last week. On the supply side, some companies faced mid-year sales performance pressure in June, forcing them to offload inventory and adding to market supply. On the demand side, end-use demand remained weak — flame retardant operating rates declined, photovoltaic glass demand contracted, and polyester operating rates slid — all of which left buying interest among downstream consumers feeble.

Japanese renewable energy developer Sun Village Co., Ltd. announced its mid-to-long-term growth strategy "Road to 2030", mapping out a 50-billion-yen investment blueprint to build a next-generation energy infrastructure combining renewable supply with battery storage flexibility. By 2030, the company plans to scale its solar power development and ownership capacity to 2GW, while establishing a deployment network for 400MW of grid-scale battery storage. Representative Director Tsuguhiro Mimura emphasized that integrating generation, storage, and supply-demand operations will maximize energy value and drive sustainable growth. To transition renewable energy into a primary power source and navigate Japan's strict grid constraints, Sun Village will diversify its revenue streams via the Feed-in Premium (FIP) system and corporate PPAs, while fully entering the supply-demand adjustment and capacity markets. Through these initiatives, the company aims to evolve into a comprehensive energy platform handling everything from asset creation to intelligent control, ultimately targeting a sales scale of 100 billion yen. This dual focus on supply and adjustment capacity is designed to stabilize the local grid, enhance disaster resilience, and support Japan’s broader decarbonization goals.

Indian solar PV manufacturer and EPC group HVR Solar is expanding upstream into solar cell production. At the SNEC 2026 expo in Shanghai, the company signed multiple strategic memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with international partners to establish a 1.2 GW annual capacity TOPCon cell manufacturing line in the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh. Under these agreements, Shenzhen Han’s Photovoltaic Equipment Co., Ltd. will supply the core manufacturing machinery for the TOPCon production line, Gentech Technology (Huzhou) Co., Ltd. will provide critical chemical and gas utility systems, and Indygreen Technologies will serve as the technology facilitator responsible for production line integration and process deployment. This project is viewed as a strategic move to strengthen India's domestic renewable energy supply chain, reducing the company's reliance on upstream cell imports while enhancing local manufacturing capabilities. Furthermore, this new cell facility will create synergies with HVR Solar’s recently commissioned 1.2 GW automated module factory in Sonipat, Haryana. The module plant primarily produces G12 and G12R bifacial modules utilizing both TOPCon and HJT technologies, targeting the residential and commercial & industrial (C&I) rooftop solar markets.

[SMM Silver Weekly Review] Silver consumption has gradually picked up since June, with photovoltaic orders increasing and transactions mostly concentrated in the range of parity to a premium of RMB 10/kg. Last week's silver price drop to near-term lows attracted bargain buying from some downstream enterprises, strengthening holders' willingness to offer, and spot premiums have shown a slight firming trend this week. Overall, silver consumption in the PV sector has declined year-on-year, while non-PV industrial demand such as semiconductors and AI servers has yet to see notable growth, leaving the domestic silver market facing surplus pressure. A premium of RMB 10/kg is now considered relatively stable, with limited likelihood of returning to the high premium levels seen in Q1 this year. On the price front, silver fell continuously last week due to stronger-than-expected US non-farm data and geopolitical tensions. This week, news of a potential US-Iran memorandum of understanding has boosted sentiment, and precious metals are expected to see a modest rebound. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, further upside for precious metals remains possible amid evolving macroeconomic policies and geopolitical dynamics.