Top Efficiency Of Each Cell Technology

• Back contact technology saw a significant improvement of 1.73% absolute in top module efficiency over the last 2 years
• The top efficiency for TOPCon modules saw a modest improvement of 0.12% absolute in 2 calendar years
• The top efficiency for HJT modules increased by 0.8% absolute in the last 2 years, making it the second-highest among the technology streams, after IBC
• PERC technology has maintained a stable efficiency level of 21.7% among the top players.

The TaiyangNews TOP MODULES ANALYSIS Report 2023 summarizes the top efficiency product in all commercial cell structures. It is evident module efficiency is mainly driven by the cell technology, and companies often rely on advanced cell architectures such as IBC, TOPCon and HJT.

Historically, Maxeon had consistently been at the top efficiency spot among the commercially-available modules. At the beginning of 2022, it represented the highest efficiency module product with an efficiency of 22.7% in the IBC category until March 2022 when Maxeon again increased the efficiency to 22.8%, retaining its leadership position until September.

In October 2022, LONGi introduced its Hi-MO 6 product with an efficiency of 22.8%, sharing the top spot with Maxeon till February 2023. As mentioned above, Aiko's module with 23.6% efficiency took the lead and it strengthened its position further with a 24% product in June 2023, staying on top through December 2023. Over the last 2 years, IBC's top efficiency for commercial modules has improved by 1.73% absolute.

Jolywood was the top seed with an efficiency of 22.53% in the TOPCon segment, maintaining its status quo until September 2022, when JinkoSolar surpassed it with a 22.65% product, which has not changed since. In the case of HJT, the top efficiency has improved several times in the last 2 years. That means that the top module efficiency for TOPCon has improved only 0.12% absolute in 2 calendar years.

From the start of our TOP MODULES ranking, REC was promoting HJT modules with the highest efficiency of 22.2%, and in April 2022 Huasun also started offering modules with the same efficiency. Canadian Solar began promoting its HJT module with an efficiency of 22.5% in May 2022. The next month, Huasun started promoting a product with a slightly higher efficiency of 22.53%, which remained at the top among HJT products until August 2023.

In September 2023, it was again Huasun that raised the bar for HJT products by offering a 23.02% efficiency module that is the highest for any HJT module, but it also earned a spot among the top 3 ranks of all modules. The top efficiency for HJT has been increased by 0.8% absolute in the last 2 years, making it 2nd among the technology streams, after IBC (see Top 3 Efficiencies In 2023).

When it comes to PERC, the top efficiency has remained at 21.7% for the last 2 years except for the month of January 2022, in which the top PERC efficiency of 21.6% was attained by 5 companies – Canadian Solar, Risen, Suntech, Talesun and Trina Solar. The following month, LONGi increased it to 21.7% and held the top spot until June 2022. In July, however, Risen also introduced a product with similar efficiency, thereby sharing PERC's top position until November 2022. In December, while the top efficiency remained at 21.7%, Canadian Solar (CSI) joined the club. The status quo was maintained for the next 2 months, after which Tongwei, a leading cell and silicon supplier, also started offering a PERC module with 21.7%. In April 2023, DAS Solar joined the list, which remained unchanged for the next 2 months. In July, Suntech moved in, and the 6 companies (CSI, LONGi, Risen, Tongwei, DAS Solar, Suntech) continued with the same efficiency to the end of 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.