Düsseldorf / Hyderabad | October 28, 2026
Technology is becoming the key differentiator in solar manufacturing. In China, where production capacity far exceeds global demand, overcapacity has made competition so fierce that a 5 W difference at the module level can provide a competitive edge. Many other solar markets are aiming for self-reliance, and efforts to localize manufacturing are well underway. Both scenarios require production equipment.
Equipment drives technology progress. TOPCon and BC would not have scaled as fast as they did without tool optimization. Upgraded or new cell architectures require corresponding equipment upgrades, or even a new toolset.
Requirements also differ by market. A cell maker in China looks for upgrades that fit into running lines, while a new entrant elsewhere needs complete lines that are reliable and ramp up quickly.
Based on TaiyangNews’ discussions with leading equipment makers, the market is split in two. In China, overcapacity has brought new investment almost to a standstill, and much of the equipment makers’ work involves helping customers achieve incremental performance gains, lower costs, or both.
Outside China, new fabs in India, the US and other regions are creating new opportunities for tool makers. The US is seen as the market with the most growth potential, although the picture is mixed. Space PV has emerged as a new topic, with new players entering and capacity announcements of up to 100 GW. As with earlier mega-announcements, however, such capacities will take years to materialize, if at all.
“In China, where overcapacity has made every watt a selling point, cell makers with the means are upgrading. The growth markets are now outside China, even if much smaller, and they bring different priorities: safety rules, operating convenience, water, and the business case of a single fab rather than a GW-scale cluster. Tools designed for Chinese mega-fabs will have to adapt. Today’s business lies in making existing lines better and new lines smarter, and in being ready when the next technology shift arrives,” said Michael Schmela, Managing Director of TaiyangNews.
TOPCon remains the baseline technology of the new TaiyangNews Market Survey Cell Production Equipment 2026, but the report examines the next steps in its development, including rear polyfingers and edge passivation. It also discusses the growing interest in BC cell architectures and the role of laser processing and wet chemistry in their manufacturing.
The survey covers equipment for surface preparation, emitter formation, passivation, metallization, and cell characterization, with dedicated sections on lasers and edge passivation tools. It lists 81 products from 12 suppliers, allowing readers to compare equipment offerings across suppliers and process steps.
Key findings
Next-Generation TOPCon: TOPCon has not reached its limits. Fully optimized lines already claim to produce modules with 24.8% efficiency and 670 W power, and equipment makers still see room for optimization. Next-generation TOPCon adds rear polyfingers and edge passivation to the LECO-based cell, and the equipment makers TaiyangNews spoke to agree that it is mature in China. Edge passivation requires adding a laser, the passivation tool, IV sorting, and automation – a relatively high cost for a gain of about 5 to 7 W.
Edge Passivation: Edge passivation is currently the most prominent topic in cell processing and a key enabler for modules built with third- or quarter-cut cells. ALD aluminum oxide in coin-stack batch tools is the mainstream approach, at around 20,000 pieces per hour. Cut-line technology takes a different route, preparing the cell before cutting instead of repairing the edge afterward. It can serve as a standalone alternative to edge passivation or complement it.
BC: BC is attracting strong industry interest, but views on its pace differ sharply. It requires 5-6 wet steps, compared with 3 for TOPCon, and the etching that follows laser patterning determines how cleanly the p- and n-regions are separated. According to a cell maker speaking at TaiyangNews’ production equipment conference, about 40% of TOPCon lines can be reused for BC.
Lasers: Lasers have grown from ancillary tools into a core part of the line. Besides LECO and cell cutting, they now pattern polyfingers and the rear side of BC cells; front local junctions for TOPCon are next. DR Laser alone reports more than 1,000 of its laser tools running in BC production.
Silver: According to the latest ITRPV, silver price reached an all-time high of $3,729/kg in January 2026. The cells in the 706 GW of modules shipped in 2025 consumed about 7,244 tons of silver, around 21% of global supply. Paste makers are pursuing multiple approaches: finer lines with knotless screens and stencils, silver-nickel pastes, 2-layer contacts with a copper-rich conductor on a silver seed, and pure copper pastes. HJT is furthest ahead, with silver-coated copper pastes containing around 10% silver.
Space PV and HJT: Space PV has brought thin-wafer HJT back into the discussion. HJT’s revival for space applications has driven demand for etching wafers down to 50 to 70 µm, making thin-wafer handling a line-wide task.
“One lesson of this edition is that the single tool is no longer the unit of optimization. In BC, the critical steps are not individual tools but the handover between them, and BC is less about new equipment than about process control. Equipment makers increasingly think in process windows and whole lines rather than in machines,” said Shravan Chunduri, Head of Technology at TaiyangNews.
The survey also briefly summarizes equipment solutions for HJT and perovskite-based tandems. Perovskite tandems remain the long-term wild card: interest exists, but investment does not, and the deposition route is still open. TaiyangNews will publish a dedicated report on perovskite tandem technologies.
The full report can be downloaded at https://taiyangnews.info/reports/taiyangnews-market-survey-cell-production-equipment-2026
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TaiyangNews – All About Solar is a global online solar news platform focused on technology. We offer comprehensive coverage of market trends, technology advancements, and policy developments on our website and through regular online conferences and reports, empowering our audience to make informed decisions in the ever-evolving solar energy landscape.
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