Key takeaways:
HJT has significantly reduced its cost gap with TOPCon through improvements across the manufacturing ecosystem
The technology continues to offer advantages in bifaciality, temperature coefficient, and environmental footprint despite increasing competition from TOPCon and BC
Manufacturers are increasingly positioning HJT for applications that benefit from its system-level strengths rather than focusing solely on cell efficiency gains
Among the current mainstream cell technologies, heterojunction (HJT) is under pressure in the current market, with TOPCon reaching comparable efficiency levels
and BC surpassing it. It is no longer positioned as a premium high-efficiency cell architecture. CapEx and OpEx associated with HJT are also higher than those of its peers. The challenge is not only the cost of technology. High depreciation and weak line utilization in the current market environment are also adding further cost pressure.
Despite these constraints, there has been a significant cost reduction in HJT, considerably narrowing the cost delta with TOPCon. This was made possible with significant effort from a healthy ecosystem built around more than 40 GW of capacity. This includes manufacturers, material suppliers, and equipment makers working collectively to improve the technology.
At the same time, HJT retains a set of clear advantages. The technology offers best-in-class bifaciality and one of the lowest temperature coefficients. These attributes translate into system-level benefits and support LCOE reduction. On the processing front, HJT is also somewhat unique, with the fewest processing steps, and is credited with low-temperature processing. The technology also earns the highest green credits, according to Po-Chuan Yang, CTO of Risen, one of the leading HJT manufacturers. Providing the Latest Update on HJT Cells & Module Technologies on HJT day (4th day) of TaiyangNews High-Efficiency Solar Technologies 2025 Conference, he emphasized that HJT’s carbon footprint of 376.5 kg CO2/W is 5% below the green benchmark. HJT has 60% lower water consumption and 20% lower power usage than TOPCon and scores even higher over BC.
Unlike TOPCon, HJT is experiencing gradual improvements rather than large breakthroughs. Notably, leading manufacturers are developing more affordable versions of the technology that combine lower costs with HJT’s natural benefits, such as high bifaciality, a low temperature coefficient, and a smaller carbon footprint. The focus has shifted from maximizing efficiency to enhancing system value. The technology is increasingly being directed toward applications that leverage its strengths, such as East-West vertical installations, where HJT is often preferred and actively promoted. Nonetheless, ongoing incremental advancements across the entire value chain of HJT manufacturing are detailed in the TaiyangNews Cell & Module Technology Trends 2026 report.
The text is an edited excerpt from TaiyangNews’ report on Cell & Module Technology Trends 2026, which can be downloaded for free here.