The photovoltaic (PV) industry is growing at an increasingly rapid rate. With constant changes in terms of technology, price, efficiency, and capacities, it can be challenging to figure out what the next year (and decade) will bring.  Technology trends on wafers, cells and module need to be answered.

Wafers

Recently, the mono-crystalline silicon wafer is gaining momentum and conquering the global solar PV market. A module with a mono-wafer has higher efficiency and fewer defects than a multi-crystalline wafer.  It is expected to see mono-technology dominating in the following years.

In addition to mono-wafer tech, manufacturers are adopting bigger wafer sizes to increase the power output from a single module. 2020 is a year of going-bigger. Trina solar announced that they will build a 10GW plant to make 210x210mm wafers.

Module

A solar panel manufacturing process that has gotten some traction recently is “shingling.” Shingled modules cut solar cells into strips and overlap them inside the framed module. Intercell gaps are removed, and more silicon cells can be crammed into one module, increasing power output and module efficiency.

Without the introduction of dual-junction processes, like with heterojunction technology, which combines crystalline silicon with amorphous silicon thin-film to produce a high-power hybrid cell, a shingled module is the highest power and efficiency you can get with traditional, undoped crystalline silicon.

Cells

Soon after commercialized production, PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Contact) cells became the standard for PV cells. PERC technology brings cell efficiency up to 1% with a slight modification in production.

An even higher efficiency potential is offered by Heterojunction technology (HJT), which holds the overall cell record for silicon solar cells at 26%. While Sanyo/Panasonic have been producing HJT modules exclusively for many years, the expiry of key patents has given others access to the technology that combines the best of the silicon wafer and thin-film worlds. While HJT has several advantages over traditional crystalline solar cells, showing a leading low temperature coefficient, the highest bifaciality of all cell technologies and much fewer production steps, it requires investment in a completely new line.

About Yongoo

Yongoo has been developing electrically conductive adhesives for semiconductor industry since 2007. By bringing its in-depth knowledge on acrylate and epoxy based electrically conductive adhesives, Yongoo has developed shingling adhesives for photovoltaic industry. Our products provide excellent conductivity, adhesion strength and high reliability.

If you have any questions about copyright, please contact us.