TaiyangNews has released its Solar Cell Production Equipment 2025 Report, a comprehensive review of the technologies and tools driving the global solar industry’s transition to next-generation cell architectures. With the PV sector currently facing overcapacity and cost pressures, the survey highlights how equipment suppliers are enabling manufacturers to balance capital expenditure reduction, operational efficiency, and technology scaling – all of which are key to staying competitive.
Survey Insights: A Detailed Look at the Key Tools Across All 5 Production Steps of Solar Cells
The 2025 edition of the report puts a strong emphasis on TOPCon, the industry’s dominating solar cell technology, while also addressing developments in higher-efficiency heterojunction (HJT) and back-contact (BC) manufacturing. To provide a comprehensive overview of the production landscape, TaiyangNews gathered inputs from 14 international suppliers from 4 countries, including the global market leaders, resulting in a detailed comparison of 81 equipment solutions across 5 crucial process steps: surface preparation, emitter formation, passivation, metallization, and IV testing.
Some of the survey’s notable findings are:
Surface Preparation continues to evolve, with wet-bench suppliers introducing new chemical formulations for better texturing and reflectivity control. Inline solutions are redefining throughput capabilities, while wastewater management is becoming a new priority.
Emitter Formation has undergone a rapid transformation. Selective emitters, once experimental, are now mainstream, and the adoption of laser-assisted metallization is pushing manufacturers back to blanket emitters with ultra-high sheet resistance.
Passivation remains a cornerstone for efficiency gains. LPCVD and PECVD dominate, but PVD is gaining traction for its cost and safety benefits, while edge passivation after laser slicing is emerging as a niche.
Metallization is seeing one of the most disruptive shifts, with laser-assisted techniques enabling finer fingers and savings of silver, the most expensive part of the solar cell. Moreover, decoupling from emitter formation is taking place – a breakthrough that could accelerate mass adoption of TOPCon.
IV Testing is increasingly moving towards LED-based solutions, offering improved spectral control and stability – particularly vital for bifacial and tandem cells.
Industry Voices: Equipment Innovation at the Core of PV’s Future
According to Michael Schmela, Managing Director of TaiyangNews, the results of the survey show the importance of the equipment supply chain to continue on its cost reduction path. “The solar equipment industry continues to demonstrate its remarkable ability to support technology transitions. After enabling the shift from PERC to TOPCon, suppliers are now paving the way for multiple high-efficiency architectures to reach mass production at cost-competitive levels, and prepare the jump to next-gen cell technologies. This is critical at a time when the industry urgently needs to overcome an overcapacity situation that is lasting too long, severely eating into profits levels needed for research on, and investments in, next-gen technologies.”
Shravan Chunduri, Head of Technology at TaiyangNews, and the main author of the market survey, said, “This year’s report shows how production equipment suppliers are not only refining mainstream processes like screen printing but are also pushing revolutionary approaches such as laser-assisted metallization and advanced passivation techniques. The pace of innovation in production equipment will define how fast and cost-effectively next-gen solar cell technologies can be scaled.” He stressed that innovation at the equipment level is laying the foundation for the solar industry’s future.
Beyond TOPCon: Preparing for Perovskites and Next-Gen PV
The report also includes a section on ancillary tools – such as lasers, cell characterization instruments, and deposition solutions for perovskites – highlighting how suppliers are already preparing for the next wave of PV technology.
With detailed product specifications of the key production tools, the TaiyangNews Solar Cell Production Equipment 2025 Report provides a unique snapshot of where the solar cell production equipment sector stands today and where the industry is headed next.
The TaiyangNews Solar Cell Production Equipment 2025 Report is now available for free download on this link:
Online Conference
As an extension to the report, TaiyangNews will host a Virtual Conference on Cell & Module Production Equipment & Processing Materials on 🗓️ Tuesday, September 2, 2025, from 🕤 09:30 to 13:00 CEST.
The event will explore recent advancements in production equipment and process consumables along the solar cell and module manufacturing chain, in light of global efforts to build more resilient and efficient solar supply chains.
📅 Free registration is open at: https://taiyangnews.info/our-events/september-2-2024-taiyangnews-cell-module-production-equipment-processing-materials-conference
Physical Conference
To continue the global dialogue on solar manufacturing, TaiyangNews is also co-organizing a high-level, in-person strategy event in the United States titled: Solar Made in the USA.
To be held in partnership with EUPD Research and RE+, this Conference will serve as a collaborative strategy platform to engage with decision-makers from across the US solar and storage manufacturing value chain.
The program is divided into 2 focused sessions:
· Morning session: Dedicated to the latest developments in US PV manufacturing across the module value chain
· Afternoon session: Will tackle quality, reliability, and system-level strategies in today’s fast-evolving policy and market environment
In a year marked by shifting trade dynamics and major policy updates under OBBB, this event will help address key industry questions about competitiveness, innovation, and building a resilient US supply chain.
Do register and be there!
📅 When: September 8 (Monday)
📍 Where: Venetian Las Vegas, Palazzo Ballroom E
⏰ Time: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
📝 Registration: https://www.re-plus.com/register/ (This is a RE+ Partner-led event. Registration will take place through the RE+ Conference platform)
About TaiyangNews
TaiyangNews – All About Solar is a global online solar news platform with a focus 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.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Meena Nair
Marketing Communications Manager
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Website: www.taiyangnews.info
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