As PERC cells become popular and gradually approach the theoretical limit of photoelectric conversion efficiency, cell technologies represented by TOPCon, heterojunction (HJT), and HPBC have received widespread attention. Photovoltaic cell technology routes are iterating and updating rapidly, and different technical routes will "meet each other on a narrow road" in 2023, ushering in fierce competition.

Market Outlook

TOPCon is a tunnel oxide layer passivation contact solar cell technology based on the selective carrier principle, which can retain and utilize existing P-type cell production equipment to the greatest extent.

The process equipment production line has high compatibility and low mass production difficulty. It is compatible with the high-temperature preparation process production line of PERC and N-PERT bifacial cells.

The industrialization process of TOPCon’s technology route is relatively fast. According to statistics from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association, the PERC cell market accounted for approximately 91% in 2021, and HJT and TOPCon combined accounted for less than 3%. It is expected that by 2025, the total proportion of ultra-efficient solar cell technologies represented by HJT and TOPCon will be close to 40%, and by 2030 it is expected to exceed 75%.

HJT has received great attention in the capital market, and many listed companies have invested in the HJT track. In July 2022, King Kong Photovoltaics announced that in order to further extend the upstream and downstream industrial chains, expand heterojunction photovoltaic projects, and expand production to seek profit growth points, it plans to use the newly established holding subsidiary King Kong Yide as the implementation entity to invest in the construction of 4.8 GW high-efficiency heterojunction cell and module project. Data shows that from January 24, 2022 to October 28, 2022, the cumulative amount of the HJT cell sales contract signed by the company’s controlled subsidiary Wujiang King Kong and its customer REC reached US$36.9756 million.

In August 2022, MAXWELL company stated in a survey by institutional investors that the company had made considerable preparations for the development of the HJT industry and had increased HJT equipment production capacity through private investment projects. MAXWELL company stated that the conversion efficiency of HJT cell in the laboratory is already very high. In terms of application, it is necessary to introduce double-sided microcrystalline and other technologies on the client side to improve the conversion efficiency. Promoting HJT cell cost reduction requires joint efforts from upstream and downstream of the industry chain.

Industry insiders said that the cost reduction route for HJT cell technology is clear, which mainly includes reducing equipment investment costs, increasing equipment mass production capacity, and diluting HJT cell production costs. At the same time, costs can be further reduced through solutions such as thinning silicon wafers and saving the amount of silver paste.

Millennial 3D Microscope

Millennial 3D microscope ME-PT3000 is a high-speed confocal scanning microscope that can be used for accurate and reliable 3D measurements. Real-time confocal microscopy images are achieved through fast optical scanning modules and signal processing algorithms.

ME-PT3000 3D microscope is an optical instrument specially used in the photovoltaic industry to inspect the quality of grid lines and textures on the surface of photovoltaic cells. Based on the principle of optical technology, combined with precision Z-direction scanning module, 3D modeling algorithm, etc., the device surface is non-contactly scanned and a 3D image of the surface is established. The height and width of the grid lines on the photovoltaic cells and the texture on the surface are measured through the system software. The number of pyramids is quantitatively tested to provide feedback on the quality of photovoltaic cell cleaning, texturing and screen printing processes.

E-mail: market@millennialsolar.cn