Modules & Upstream Manufacturing

Both the solar module and battery manufacturing industries have been dealing with excess production capacity in recent years, and each is undergoing its own set of market adjustments in 2025. This has meant challenging conditions for manufacturing equipment suppliers in either sector. But there is still plenty of opportunity to deploy the latest technologies at scale, and to assist suppliers moving into new regions. The long-term outlook for both sectors is strong, as pv magazine heard from Wang Yanqing, Chairman of solar and battery production equipment supplier Lead Intelligent, headquartered in Wuxi, China.

Researchers have designed a novel multigeneration energy system that provides five outputs, namely electricity, hydrogen, cooling, heating, and hot water. The system is mainly powered by a solar heliostat system and incorporates compressed air and pumped hydro storage technologies for storing surplus power.

Tata Power’s PV module subsidiary, TP Solar, has produced more than 4 GW of solar panels and 1.4 GW of cells at its factory in Tamil Nadu, India.

An international team of researchers used a novel interfacial treatment to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells across a range of narrow and wide bandgap single junction, tandem, and mini-module samples. An all-perovskite tandem solar cell demonstrated its use with a certified efficiency of 29.5%.

US solar manufacturing ramped up sharply in the first quarter of 2025, supporting record levels of new capacity as solar and storage made up 82% of additions to the grid. But proposed legislation and rising import tariffs could cloud growth prospects.

Qcells says its new EcoRecycle facility in the US state of Georgia will remove aluminum, glass, silver and copper from used solar modules and process them for re-use.

SunPower CEO T.J. Rodgers says the company will survive looming cuts to federal solar incentives by staying lean, sharpening its technology edge, and tapping private capital. He argues that the industry will be stronger without subsidies.

Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a hydrogel composite that absorbs moisture in solar modules overnight and facilitates evaporative cooling throughout daylight hours. The system has undergone lab tests and outdoor experiments on two continents.

Chinese solar cell maker Drinda and Turkey’s Schmid Pekintas Energy have revealed plans to jointly develop a 5 GW n-type solar cell facility to bypass EU trade barriers.

JinkoSolar led global PV module shipments in 2024, followed by JA Solar, Longi, Canadian Solar and Trina Solar, according to Wood Mackenzie. The research firm notes a growing shift toward full vertical integration among top manufacturers.