When the light and shadow of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai sweep over the photovoltaic array in the desert, a cross Asian and African energy cooperation is reshaping the green landscape of the Gulf region. At the end of 2025, China's leading photovoltaic company, DMEGC Solar, and the renewable energy platform IAN under the UAE's century old family enterprise AG Holding officially signed an exclusive distribution agreement, with Dubai as the hub, fully covering the markets of the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. This strong alliance marks the deep binding of China's photovoltaic industry with Middle Eastern capital, jointly exploring a clean energy blue ocean with a scale of 24 billion dirhams (about 6.53 billion US dollars).

This cooperation is not accidental, but a precise match between industrial advantages and market demand. The Gulf Cooperation Council countries are accelerating their energy transition, with Saudi Arabia's "2030 Vision" planning over 70GW of renewable energy projects, and the United Arab Emirates planning to invest 198 billion dirhams in developing clean energy by 2030. The regional photovoltaic market is expected to have an average annual compound growth rate of over 30% from 2024 to 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing photovoltaic markets in the world. The special environment of high temperature, high humidity, and salt spray corrosion in the desert region of the Middle East places strict requirements on the weather resistance and efficiency stability of photovoltaic modules. As a company that has long been listed on Bloomberg New Energy Finance Tier 1 list, Hengdian Dongci's N-type TOPCon rectangular battery cells have an average production efficiency of 25.8%, with module power generally exceeding 620W, and have passed the French ADEME low-carbon footprint certification, which perfectly matches the core demands of the high-end market in the Middle East.

The choice of Middle Eastern capital highlights the recognition of China's photovoltaic industry chain. AG Holding, behind IAN, is a family owned comprehensive group that has been deeply rooted in the Gulf for 90 years. Its 100% private family holding attributes give it flexible decision-making mechanisms and deep local resources. Hengdian Dongci has a vertically integrated production capacity layout of silicon wafers, batteries, and components, with a global cumulative shipment volume exceeding 60GW and six major production bases ensuring supply chain stability. This cooperation model of "Tier 1 technology in China+local channels in the Middle East" not only avoids the long international bidding cycle of sovereign fund projects, but also reduces terminal costs through localized inventory and financial services, accurately enters the distributed and small to medium-sized ground power station market, complements the large-scale project layout of enterprises such as LONGi and JinkoSolar, and improves the market ecology of Chinese photovoltaics in the Middle East.

It is worth noting that this cooperation is a new breakthrough in China's photovoltaic "going global" model. Previously, Middle Eastern capital was often linked to Chinese new energy enterprises through strategic investments, such as GCL Technology's introduction of Wuji Capital with Middle Eastern sovereign fund background to raise 5 billion yuan. However, this exclusive distribution cooperation between Hengdian Dongci and IAN has created a precedent for private enterprise second tier and Middle Eastern family capital light asset cooperation. With the comprehensive relaxation of distributed photovoltaic policies in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia starting from 2025, allowing 100% self use and grid connection of industrial and commercial rooftops, Hengdian Dongci's global leading advantage in the field of black components will be further released, and it is expected to quickly seize market share with IAN's local network.

From the blue array of the Abu Dhabi Al Dufra photovoltaic power station to the heat collection tower of Dubai's Maktoum Solar Park, Chinese photovoltaic technology has already taken root in the Middle East. The collaboration between Hengdian Dongci and Middle Eastern family capital not only provides an efficient solution for the energy transformation of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, but also reflects the strategic shift from competition to win-win between Chinese manufacturing and Gulf capital. Under the global "dual carbon" wave, the deep integration of this industry and capital will continue to promote the internationalization of China's photovoltaic technology standards, inject lasting momentum into the diversification of the Middle East economy, and transform the sunshine in the desert into a green link connecting the two civilizations.Editor/Bian Wenjun