Companies in Xi'an, Shaanxi

LONGi's rise is a bet on a technology that once looked like a loser: in the early 2000s, the solar industry had largely abandoned monocrystalline silicon in favor of cheaper multicrystalline wafers, but LONGi — founded in 2000 in Xi'an as a mono wafer specialist — kept refining the manufacturing process until monocrystalline became cheaper than its rival. That reversal made LONGi the world's largest solar company and the biggest maker of solar wafers and modules. The business covers the full solar value chain: silicon wafers (where LONGi holds a dominant global share), high-efficiency solar cells (its HJT and TOPCon cell technologies hold world records for conversion efficiency), and solar modules under the LONGi brand, plus hydrogen electrolyzer equipment as its newest bet. Its Hi-MO series modules are among the best-selling in the world. With about 60,000 employees and annual revenue near RMB 100 billion (US$14 billion), LONGi became the most valuable solar company in the world in 2021 — before a brutal industry overcapacity crash in 2023-24 slashed solar prices and profits across the board. For the renewable energy industry, LONGi remains the technology leader — the company whose single-crystal bet reshaped an entire global industry, now fighting through the worst downcycle in solar history.