Cell and module technologies are progressing faster than the expected market, said that experts participated in the Netzero Milan Expo-Summit 2025, organized by Fieramilano and planned to take place from 14 to 16 May in Milan, Italy.
The planned speakers told PV -Magazine That the PV module landscape has evolved quickly, powered by the regular acceptance of N-type technologies.
“Topcon has emerged as the leading successor to P-Type Perc, which offers a higher efficiency and improved performance with little light. Mass-produced topcon modules are now achieving efficiency to 23.8%. Heterojunction (HJT), once considered to be the next big focus of different manuals (BC).
Alessandro Barin, CEO of Futurasun, said that the cost reductions of Topcon have been a clear game changer.
“What was once a premium option is now becoming more and more competitive in terms of efficiency and production costs,” he said. “This is stimulating broader industry and push module performance benchmarks higher across the board.”
Joris Libal, project manager at ISC Konstanz, said that the recent introduction of laser-improved contact optimization (LECO) technology in the Topcon production process will further accelerate this shift by offering extra profit in cell and module efficiency.
“In addition to making higher efficiency, Leco will considerably reduce the long-term reliability problems in certain types of topcon modules,” he said. “Advanced Topcon technologies, such as selectively passivated contacts on the back, will increase the bifacial factor of Topcon modules to above 90%, so that the bifacial factor of hetero junction (HJT) modules is approached.”
Francesco Emmolo, general manager of Italy and Greece at Longi, said that N-Type Topcon Mainstream will remain because it offers the “correct combination of production costs, sales prices, module efficiency and proven relegation.” However, the company gambles on combining Topcon and HJT with return contact designs and comes up as the back contact champion, with around 17 GW on contact products sent in 2024.
“BC -modules are already achieving impressive efficiency above 24%, and although traditionally associated with premium residential and C&I segments, they are now increasingly being used on Utility, especially in China,” said Hryshko, that Perovskite Tech Tech is also fast, with the first available modules. Performance characteristics make it an attractive option between market segments. “
Rise of back contact
Libbal said that large-scale mass production and R&D efforts in China and Europe are falling the production costs of Topcon-back contact cells and modules, which means that the gap is quickly limited with standard Topcon.
“Topcon BC wins market share faster than predicted by different route maps,” said Libbal. “Accordingly, there is a strong chance that Topcon Technology will replace PureCons in 2030 in 2030 as the regular PV technology.”
The scientist said that Topcon and Topcon BC are well suited as soil cells for future dental modules of silicon-perovskiet, but noted that solving reliability problems with perovskiet layers will take time.
“Such dental modules have no significant market share before 2030, or even later,” said Libal.
The barin of Futurasun noted the remarkable acceleration in the development of perovskiet solar cells and their even greater future potential.
“Their highly efficient potential, adjustable band gap and compatibility with tandem configurations make them one of the most promising candidates for photovoltaic next generation,” he said. “Research has improved rapidly in the direction of improving their stability and scalability, making commercial viability closer than ever”.
Hryshko said that another important development is the shift in module formats.
“The widespread acceptance of larger waffle sizes (M10 and G12) and higher current classes, often more than 600 W, has contributed to lowering the costs of the balance sheet (forest),” said Hryshko. “Bifacial modules have also become the norm in projects on Nuts scale because of their higher energy yield and falling prize premium compared to monofacial designs.”
New scenarios
Hryshko said that new Encapsulant materials and advanced interconnection methods have improved the sustainability of the module, helping products to meet the more difficult climate and stress tests and stimulating long-term reliability in more environments.
Experts did not agree on the impact of American rates on Chinese cells and waffles. Hryshko said that recent tensions in the US-China have had limited new effects on the sun sector, despite widespread assumptions.
“The American market has operated under restrictive trade policy – including AD/CVD rates, section 201, and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act – for years. As a result, Chinese solar modules are largely excluded from direct access to the American market,” she said. “Although the US has developed a self-sufficient domestic module assembly capacity, it is still highly dependent on imports for solar cells and waffles, which is a risk for the entire Build-out-out for domestic supply chain. With coordinated policy and investments, this bottleneck can be addressed.”
It is clear that the new American political approach requires new commercial strategies.
“We have already adapted somehow,” said Emmolo. “We currently have factories in Vietnam, Malaysia and the United States that help us to be more flexible in the supply chain.”
Hryshko said that the price distinction between modules with high and low technology narrows.
“The current module prices have fallen under the production costs of many manufacturers, and the price delta between topcon and BC technologies is minimal -generally approximately € 0.005 ($ V)/W to € 0.01/w. Because the majority of the worldwide module is now more influence on the Dynamic Geopolitic. “
The Global Solar Council has said that prices can stabilize this year and in 2026.
“The profit margins for manufacturers are likely to improve in H2 2026,” said Sonia Dunlop, the CEO of the Global Solar Council.
Europe is more vulnerable than the United States, Hryshko said, because it remains highly dependent on Chinese import, with around 98% of its solar modules from China.
“In contrast to the US, Europe has minimal production capacity of operational module and no effective trade barriers. Although there is a growing awareness of the risks, geopolitics and logistics, set by this dependence, no decisive shift has occurred,” Hryshko said. “Given that Solar is expected to be good by 30% of the EU electricity by 2030, building a more diversified and resilient solar supply chain is a matter of both energy and national security. In this context, geopolitics must be weighed in addition to the industrial strategy.”
However, this situation will also create opportunities, especially for companies that can facilitate cross -border relationships through joint ventures.
“The current geopolitical landscape, although it challenges for many, actually offers unique benefits for a company and ours. Our dual identity, both Italian and Chinese, enables us to remain agile and resilient in the light of changing trade dynamics and regulatory environments,” Barin said. “This positioning gives us greater flexibility in our supply chain and the possibility to easily navigate both European and Asian markets. Instead of simply adjusting, we use this context to strengthen our role as a bridge between East and West. This helps our partners to reduce the risk, to optimize the worldwide environment.”
The above experts are some of the speakers at the Vertical session organized by PV -Magazine. Tickets for the Milan conference are available with a 20% discount with code 7600199855.
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