TOPCon

Chinese manufacturer Beyondsun said the new panel series are relying on 182mm n-type half-cut TOPCon cells and super multi busbar (SMBB) technology. It reaches a maximum efficiency of 22.45% and its power output ranges from 415 W to 580 W.

Seraphim is offering four versions of its new SIV N-TOPCon modules, with power outputs between 565 W and 580 W. The power conversion efficiency ranges from 21.87% and 22.45%.The Chinese manufacturer said the panels can be used for distributed-generation PV projects and ground-mounted power stations.

Solar module prices continued to fall in January, and there is no end in sight. The main drivers impacting prices are lower shipping rates from China and the further recovery of the euro-US dollar exchange rate. Martin Schachinger, of pvXchange, expects other effects, such as slowly falling energy costs or polysilicon and wafer prices – which are in freefall – to further strengthen the trend in the coming months.

China’s Trina Solar has published a white paper on its latest n-type TOPCon modules, with cost calculations and figures from demonstration projects. The Chinese PV manufacturer claims better performance from its 210 mm cells than with other n-type products based on smaller, 182 mm cells.

New research from UNSW in Australia outlines the need for solar cell and module makers to reduce or eliminate the use of silver in their products. Based on expected PV growth, in line with climate change commitments, solar manufacturers would require at least 85% of global silver reserves, according to the new study.

The second-phase launch of Solarspace’s $1.47 billion manufacturing facility brings its total global production capacity of n-type solar cells to 35 GW.

The strength of applications for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency’s ultra-low-cost solar research funding round was so strong that the agency had to add AUD 1.5 million ($1.03 million) to its original allocation. The strength of competition pushed the process into 2023, but the 13 research projects aiming to achieve ultra-low-cost solar have now been awarded.

Jochen Rentsch, head of department at Fraunhofer ISE, speaks to pv magazine about recent progress in TOPCon module development, including new efficiency records by JinkoSolar and Jolywood. Production costs are falling as more Tier 1 companies shift from PERC to TOPCon, and multi-gigawatt production is already a reality. Could the TOPCon solar cell segment reach a tipping point for efficiency in 2023?

Germany’s 1Komma5° says it will exclusively use polysilicon from Europe or the United States to make the TOPcon solar cells for its full-black modules. It is aiming for market launch in the second quarter of 2023.

Tongwei and Jolywood announced higher cell prices, while Maxwell revealed that it has signed a deal to sell 4.8 GW of heterojunction PV production equipment to Golden Glass.