The Aspiration

Rapid growth and rising operational complexity pushed TCL Photovoltaic Technology (TCL PV Tech), a new energy company within TCL Corporation, to embrace artificial intelligence. Between 2022 and 2025, the company’s revenue surged from roughly RMB 600 million to RMB 20 billion. At the same time, highly dispersed projects, more intricate processes, and shifting policy environments heightened the demand for efficiency, consistency, and risk management. 

AI as a foundational capability—not just a tech initiative—answered TCL PV Tech’s question: How can we reduce costs, improve efficiency, and ensure high-quality scale growth? With Bain’s guidance, the company zeroed in on a set of high-impact AI use cases at the intersection of transformation potential and capability maturity. 

The Impact

Rather than focus on standalone pilots, TCL PV Tech prioritized solving pain points—those critical yet constrained processes that would hinder sustainable growth. In collaboration with Bain, the organization introduced:

•    Intelligent inspection, which reduced reliance on human judgment for processes like site survey and final grid connection
•    Real-time analysis and forecasting of power markets to boost efficiency and accuracy
•    AI-powered recognition to continuously monitor power stations and flag potential faults early, improving the speed and accuracy of maintenance responses

TCL PV Tech’s dedicated AI service group continues to scale AI across the business, embedding it in core capabilities to balance efficiency gains with risk control as the company grows. But beyond the tactical wins, Bain helped the company adopt an end-to-end transformation mindset. Faced with a highly uncertain business climate, the company built a sustained capability through process and organizational change. In that context, the organization’s AI-enabled transformation was not a one-time rollout but a continuous journey of iteration and refinement.

First, major, immediate pain points need to be addressed. Second, tangible results must be [achieved]. Visible success helps more colleagues recognize the real benefits AI brings and motivates them to go further.

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Ms. Ricky He, General Manager, TCL Photovoltaic Technology

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