Spotlight on Nasir M. Khan, Director - General Manager - Middle-East, Africa, India at HY Solar

Nasir Mahmood Khan brings over 14 years of rich experience in sales and business development within the renewable energy sector, focusing on the Middle East and African markets. His career features impactful roles at leading organizations such as Sungrow, Trina Solar, Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (TMEIC), and KEC International Ltd. Nasir’s expertise is deeply rooted in strategic planning, market expansion, and driving business growth in dynamic, global environments. He holds an MBA and is an accomplished Electrical Engineer.

Please describe your role at HONGYUAN SOLAR (HY) as well as your industry expertise.

As the General Manager at HY SOLAR Co. Ltd, I oversee strategic planning and execution of sales and marketing across the Middle East, Africa, and India. My role focuses on expanding market presence, driving sales growth, launching new products, and engaging with key stakeholders. I lead a cross-functional team, emphasizing innovation and operational excellence. My industry expertise, honed at leading renewable energy firms, enables me to navigate the challenges and opportunities of the solar energy sector effectively.

What motivated HONGYUAN SOLAR (HY) to invest in the MENA's solar industry?

Rich land & solar resources, the hospitable investment environment and the positive attitude towards the new energy industry shown by local government are the factors attract us to invest in MENA. Also, in recent years, we saw a great increase in MENA photovoltaic installed capacity, this also indicates the huge potential of local solar market. 

Apart from searching for investment opportunities of local solar projects, HY SOLAR is also planning to invest in building our photovoltaic industrial park in MENA region in the future, especially in middle east, in order to serve for our business in Africa and Europe, and even worldwide.

Can you tell us about what sets you apart from other competitors?

HY SOLAR was founded 22 years ago, and listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2018. Now, with over 50GW full-chain capacity, we are already one of the largest PV wafer & PV cell manufacturer in the world. 

As a well-established manufacturing enterprise with over two decades of accumulation, HY SOLAR has rich experience in manufacturing management, and now we have already formed an “N-type net-zero industrial eco-system” covering equipment manufacturing, metallurgical-grade silicon, polycrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon pulling and slicing, N-type PV cell, N-type PV module and new energy power station. We are a deep vertical integration integrator with edges on raw material traceability or we can say we have an in depth quality control and better lead time.

What's a recent milestone HONGYUAN SOLAR  (HY) has achieved that you would like to share with us?

In 2023, HY SOLAR N-type module manufacturing base in Jiangyin with 16GW capacity was successfully put into operation, providing solid guarantee for our N-TOPCon module capacity; Meanwhile, in the past 6 months, we established over ten overseas branches covering Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and MENA regions, forming marketing network serving global clients. 

In the future, we will continue to provide high-quality modules and service to global clients to convey green energy of HY SOLAR to the world.

What are your expectations for the MENA region in terms of growth and new opportunities for HONGYUAN SOLAR  (HY)?

In the short term, we expect to let more clients in MENA to know about HY SOLAR brand and products, and then cooperate with local partners to implement high-quality PV projects and develop Tier-1 projects together, empowering the growth of HY SOLAR brand.
In the long term, we hope local government could support us to promote the implementation of HY’s overseas industrial base, which will bring industrial assets and jobs to local community in return, achieving a win-win situation.

How do you see the effects of the increasing adoption of solar energy on the MENA's economy in the coming years?

Although the rise of new energy may have a certain negative impact on the Middle East region, where traditional energy was critical to the local economy, but in the long term new energy could promote local economy to conduct active transformation and find new opportunities.

The increasing adoption of solar energy in the MENA region, particularly following the momentum of COP28, is expected to have a profound impact on the region's economy in the coming years. COP28, held in the UAE, focused on accelerating climate action and financing, targeting $1.5 trillion per year for climate change mitigation and adaptation. The conference highlighted the need for ambitious targets to limit global warming and emphasized the vital role of renewable energy in achieving these goals.

Solar energy, pivotal in advancing energy security and climate action in MENA, is set to enhance quality of life and create new market opportunities, especially for youth and businesses. The private sector's role in decarbonizing economies and steering towards a sustainable future was underscored, with a call for supportive and transparent energy regulations to foster the adoption of clean, affordable energy solutions.

In summary, the increasing adoption of solar energy in MENA, boosted by the outcomes of COP28, promises a prosperous, resilient, and sustainable economic future for the region.

In the end, we would like to share some key numbers/milestones of HY SOLAR, hope we can reach new heights in MENA in the future.

ABOUT HY SOLAR

HY SOLAR Co., Ltd. was founded in 2002, with our headquarter in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. We are a listed firm(stock code of 603185) focuses on invention and application in the renewable energy industry, and independently owns the entire photovoltaic industrial chain.

HY SOLAR has well-established in business industries such as PV equipment manufacturing, metallurgical-grade silicon and crystalline silicon, PV wafer, cell, module, and new energy power station construction, etc. It is committed to providing society and users with more efficient, easily accessible, and affordable green energy, driven by new technology R&D and deep & vertical integration, in order to achieve the increasing cost reduction and efficiency increase of PV products and promote the realization of the "Dual Carbon" goal, as well as the comprehensive popularization and refined practice of green energy.