Trends In Solar Module Efficiencies

• The number of solar products with efficiencies greater than 22.5% increased from 2 to 11 over the last 30 months, with their share nearly doubling from 10% to 19%

• For the efficiency band of 22% to 22.5%, the number of products nearly quadrupled from 2022 to H1 2024, though their relative share decreased slightly from 36% in January to 32% in June 2024

• The efficiency band of 21.7% to 22% had the lowest representation, with the number of products fluctuating between 1 and 3, reaching a high of 9% share in both 2022 and 2023

• The efficiency band of 21.5% to 21.7%, mostly represented by PERC products, saw an increase in the number of products from 13 to 25, while its share decreased from 65% in January 2022 to 44% in June 2024.

For easier analysis, as we dig deeper into efficiency, we have split them into 4 bands: >22.5%, >22% to22.5%, >21.7% to 22%, and 21.5% to 21.7%. In terms of the number of products in each band, for the highest efficiency band of greater than 22.5%, the number of products increased from 2 to 11 during the last 30 months with its share nearly doubling from 10% to 19% in terms of the total product count. During H1 2024, the product count increased just by1, from 10 to 11, corresponding to a share of 16% in January to 19% in June 2024. In 2023, the product count rose from 5 to 9 with the relative share up by 1 percentage point to 16%. In 2022, the count increased from 2 to 5, and the share from 10% of the total product count in January 2022 to 15% by the end of the year.

The number of products in the next band – >22% to22.5% – nearly quadrupled from 2022 to 19 by the end of H1 2024. However, the relative gain in total products has increased from 20% to 32% during this period. The count and share are actually down during the first 6 months of 2024, from 20 and 36% in January to 19 and 32% in June, respectively. However, this efficiency band increased its share from 24% to 36% in 2023 and 20% to 24% in 2022 (see Key Findings And Structure Of TOP SOLAR MODULES Report).

The third band – >21.7% to 22% –, had the lowest representation, with only 1 product in January 2022 and 2 products in June 2024. During the first 6 months of this year, the number of products with efficiencies between 21.7% and 22% remained the same at 2. In 2023, the product count was 3 for the first quarter and 2 for another 2 months after that, then back to being represented by a single product. Starting from September 2023, 2 products with efficiencies falling within this efficiency band have been included in the list. Accordingly, the share of this efficiency also started low at 5% but increased to 9% after 12 months. In 2023, this share fluctuated between 9% and 4%. In 2022, the product count increased from 1 in January to 3 in December, corresponding to a relative share of 5% to 9%, the latter being the all-time high that lasted for 2 months.

The 21.5% to 21.7% range is mostly represented by PERC, while only 1 HJT module falls under this bracket, and the band also represents the bulk of the listing. The product count increased from 13 to 25 during the evaluation period, but its share in the total products decreased from 65% in January 2022 to 44% in June 2024. However, during H1 2024, the product count increased from 24 in January to 25 in June, while the relative share remained at 44%. This was before the share fell from 53% in January 2023 to 43% as of the end of 2023. In the year prior, while the product count jumped from 13 to 25, its share of total products decreased from 65% in January to 53% in December 2022. 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 Module Efficiencies Across Cell Technologies)..

The TaiyangNews TOP MODULES H1-2024 Report summarizes the key findings from over 30 editions published during 2022 and H1-2024. Download the free report here.