Technology

Module Efficiency Developments

TaiyangNews Analyzes Top Module Efficiency Developments Over Last 2 Years

Shravan Chunduri
  • TaiyangNews Top solar Modules latest report analyzes 4 high efficiency bands: >22.5%, >22% to 22.5%, >21.7% to 22%, and 21.5% to 21.7%
  • The >21.7% to 22% band experienced slower rise to 9% by 2023
  • The share of PERC technology in the 21.5% to 21.7% band declined from 65% to 43%
  • The shift towards higher efficiency modules in the >22% to 22.5% band doubled from 2022 to 2023.

The TaiyangNews TOP MODULES 2023 report encapsulates key discoveries from 24 editions released throughout 2022 and 2023. This article summarizes the efficiency developments over the course of the last 2 years. For easier analysis, as we dig deeper into efficiency, we have split them into 4 bands: >22.5%, >22% to 22.5%, >21.7% to 22%, and 21.5% to 21.7%. In terms of the number of products in each band, the highest efficiency band of >22.5% increased from 2 to 5, representing 10% of the total product count in January 2022, which rose to 15% by the end of the year. In the year 2023, the band continued to have increased representation with the product count going up from 5 to 9 with the relative share up by 1 percentage point to 16% of the total listed products.

The number of products in the next band – >22% to 22.5% – doubled from 4 to 8 in 2022, then jumping to 20 in 2023. However, this efficiency band increased its share from 20% in January to 24% in December 2022, and to 36% by December 2023, relative to the total number of products.

The third band – >21.7% to 22% – had the lowest representation, with only 1 product in January 2022 and 3 products by the end of the year. In 2023, the product count remained at 3 for the first quarter and 2 for another 2 months, then back to being represented by a single product. Starting from September 2023, 2 products with efficiencies falling into this efficiency band have been included in the list. Accordingly, the share of this efficiency band also started low at 5% but increased to 9% after 12 months. In 2023, this share fluctuated between 9% and 4% (see Top Efficiency Of Each Cell Technology).

The 21.5% to 21.7% range is mostly represented by PERC, while only 1 HJT module falls under this bracket. The product count increased from 13 to 18, but its share in the total products decreased from 65% in January to 53% in December 2022, and further down to 43% as of the end of 2023. This indicates that more and more companies are commercializing products based on advanced cell architectures. Although this summary chart may appear complex, analyzing each efficiency band separately provides a clearer picture (see Top 3 Efficiencies In 2023).

The TaiyangNews TOP MODULES 2023 Report summarizes the key findings from over 24 editions published during 2022 and 2023. Download the free report here.