The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a significant increase in component prices by 15%-20% in May, leading to a surge in photovoltaics (516230) + batteries (561910)!

On May 27th, the photovoltaic sector experienced a strong surge. By the close, the China Merchants Photovoltaic ETF (516230) rose over 4%, and the China Merchants Battery ETF (561910) also strengthened simultaneously. A triple resonance of favorable policies, fundamentals, and demand drove the sector's collective rally.

Analysis indicates that on May 26th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released two mandatory national standards: "Safety Requirements for Photovoltaic Modules" and "Labeling Requirements for Photovoltaic Modules," which will officially take effect on June 1, 2027. This is a concrete measure by the state to implement the "anti-involution" governance requirements, aimed at accelerating the elimination of backward production capacity and forcing companies to focus on technological innovation and quality improvement. The China Photovoltaic Industry Association pointed out that these two standards impose mandatory requirements to address issues such as some companies relaxing quality control and falsely labeling power, indicating that the photovoltaic industry is shifting from a "price war" to a "quality war."

At the industry chain level, prices have rebounded across the board, with significant price increases in the photovoltaic industry chain since May. The price of distributed components rose from 0.6 yuan/W to 0.78-0.8 yuan/W, an increase of 15%-20%; prices for silicon materials, silicon wafers, and battery cells also increased, with leading companies collectively raising their quotes. The logic behind the price rebound lies in the increased capacity utilization rates of leading enterprises on the supply side and the accelerated exit of small and medium-sized enterprises; on the demand side, domestic centralized projects are ramping up alongside overseas export demand; on the cost side, the stabilization of upstream silicon material prices provides support for downstream price rebounds.

Additionally, data from the National Energy Administration shows that in the first quarter of 2026, the newly installed grid-connected capacity for photovoltaic power generation reached 41.19 GW, with distributed photovoltaic accounting for 52.4%, continuing to lead; household photovoltaic installations saw a significant year-on-year growth of 89%. As of the end of April, the national installed capacity for solar power generation reached 1.25 billion kilowatts, a year-on-year increase of 26.2%, with the sustained high growth of photovoltaic installations providing solid support for demand in the industry chain.

Analysis suggests that the "anti-involution" policy is moving from slogan to substance, with mandatory standards accelerating the exit of backward capacity, and the rebound in industry chain prices combined with high installation growth indicates that the photovoltaic sector is in a triple resonance window of "policy bottom + price bottom + strong demand." The configuration value of the China Merchants Photovoltaic ETF (516230) and the China Merchants Battery ETF (561910) is becoming prominent.

It is understood that the China Merchants Photovoltaic ETF (516230) tracks the CSI Photovoltaic Industry Index, covering leading companies across the entire photovoltaic industry chain, including silicon materials, silicon wafers, battery cells, modules, and inverters; the China Merchants Battery ETF (561910) focuses on the CSI Battery Theme Index, heavily investing in core targets for power batteries and energy storage, making both efficient tools for laying out the new energy industry chain