In terms of efficiency, it is interesting to note that the highest module efficiency reported in our listing has only increased by 0.1% absolute – from 22.7% to 22.8% – over the course of our first whole year of rankings. However, developments in H1-2023 were phenomenal. China's leading cell maker Aiko announced its arrival on the module scene by introducing its ABC module series based on the back contact cell architecture in March, which was also the highest efficiency commercially-available module for the month with an efficiency of 23.6% (see Record Efficiency Solar Module from Aiko). It not only held on to its top rank for the next 2 consecutive months, it beat its own record in June by delivering yet another efficiency record in mid-May, again with an ABC series module with 24% efficiency. Maintaining the efficiency at the same level, Aiko kept its top position until the end of the monitoring period for this report – end of 2023.
We further analyzed how the top 3 ranks in the listing have changed over the last 2 years, as depicted in the graph. Maxeon, Jolywood, and LG held the top spots for the first 2 months in 2022 with respective efficiencies of 22.7%, 22.53%, and 22.3%. While products from Maxeon and LG were based on IBC, Jolywood's module was based on TOPCon. A couple of developments took place in the March 2022 listing: Maxeon increased the efficiency of its module by 0.1% absolute to 22.8%, and LG exited the solar module supply business (see Module Efficiency Record from Maxeon). As a result, JinkoSolar's TOPCon module with 22.6% efficiency climbed up to the 3rd position. While there was no change in April, Canadian Solar commercialized its HJT module with 22.5% efficiency, replacing JinkoSolar's product.
However, in the following month, Huasun launched its HJT module with 22.53% efficiency, the same as Jolywood's product, resulting in both products sharing the 2nd rank that remained unchanged until August. In September 2022, JinkoSolar launched its next-generation TOPCon product with a rated efficiency of 22.65%, which qualified for the 2nd position, pushing products from Jolywood and Huasun down by a rank.
The next month, LONGi introduced its Hi-MO 6 module series based on its proprietary HPBC back contact technology, which directly claimed the top spot, sharing it with Maxeon and pushing JinkoSolar's product to the 3rd position. This ranking was maintained until the end of 2022.
In 2023, the top 3 ranks remained the same till February. With Aiko's ABC module entering the list in March, the top 3 ranks became exclusive to IBC modules. While Aiko maintained its lead, March and April saw LONGi and Maxeon share the 2nd position. However, the rankings changed in May as LONGi upgraded the efficiency of its Hi-MO 6 module series to 23.2%, making the 2nd position its own. June marked another significant development as Aiko further elevated its product efficiency to 24%, widening the gap with its peers. The next change in the top 3 ranks took place in September, when Huasun breached the IBC fortress with its HJT module with an efficiency of 23.02%, ranking 3rd on the list. The top 3 ranks remained so till the end of the year 2023.
TaiyangNews TOP MODULES 2023 report summarizes the key findings from over 24 editions published during 2022 and 2023. Download the free report here.