Trina Solar’s Module Efficiency of N-Type TOPCon Cells Reaches 26.58%
The company had achieved a module efficiency of 25.9% last month
November 26, 2024
China-based Trina Solar has claimed to have achieved an efficiency of 26.58% for n-type TOPCon solar cells, breaking its earlier record of 25.9%.
The calibration center at the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin, Germany, has certified the efficiency record of Trina’s industrial larger-area 350.4 cm2 n-type bifacial i-TOPCon solar cells.
Trina said it invented an innovative rectangular wafer design used in its high-efficiency solar cell. The substrate is an n-type phosphorus-doped Cz silicon wafer with a high minority carrier lifetime. By integrating with tunnel oxide passivating contact, advanced boron-doped emitter, advanced light trapping, and very fine line printing technologies, the front side reaches record-breaking efficiency for this industrial-size bifacial n-type i-TOPCon cell.
Last month, Trina Solar announced its industrial large area 210 ×182 mm² n-type bifacial i-TOPCon cell had achieved an efficiency of 25.9%, breaking the seven-year world record created by Fraunhofer. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE produced a TOPCon solar cell in the large-area M10 silicon wafer format, achieving an efficiency of 24%.
In Mercom’s India Solar Market Leaderboard report, Trina Solar was among the top solar module suppliers to India in the first half of 2024.
In November, Norway-based FREYR Battery announced it was acquiring China-headquartered solar photovoltaics company Trina Solar‘s U.S. solar manufacturing assets for $340 million. FREYR would acquire Trina Solar’s 5 GW solar module manufacturing facility in Wilmer, Texas, which started production on November 1, 2024. The facility is expected to reach full production capacity in 2025 with 30% of estimated production volumes backed by firm offtake contracts with U.S. customers.
As solar technology advances to adopt newer innovations aimed at reducing manufacturing costs and enhancing module efficiency, Indian solar module manufacturers are increasingly gravitating toward TOPCon technology over its key competitor, Heterojunction.
