The photovoltaic industry has become a vital force in the global energy transition. As core components of photovoltaic power generation, the speed of technological iteration in battery modules directly impacts the overall industry's development. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Third Energy Electronics Industry Innovation Competition specifically included a photovoltaic cell /module competition, focusing on process innovation and industrial application of high-efficiency battery technologies such as TOPCon, HJT, and BC, as well as high-power, flexible modules.

Three major technical routes compete for industrialization advantages

The current photovoltaic cell technology routes are showing a diversified development trend, and the three mainstream technology routes of TOPCon, HJT and BC each have their own characteristics.

▶ TOPCon technology 

Leveraging the ability to reuse some PERC production lines, TOPCon has achieved rapid industrial expansion. Data shows that TOPCon maintains its dominant position with a 70% market share and a total production capacity of 800GW.

▶ HJT technology 

While requiring a completely new production line, the process is straightforward. By 2025, the conversion efficiency of heterojunction cells still has room for improvement of at least 0.5%, and the average module power delivered in mass production is expected to reach 740W. Huasheng New Energy's Himalaya G12-132 heterojunction module has achieved a mass production power of 730W and a module efficiency of 23.5%. Liansheng Photovoltaic's G12-0BB high-efficiency heterojunction cells have achieved an average conversion efficiency exceeding 26% in mass production, with the latest batch achieving a conversion efficiency of 26.23%.

▶ BC technology (back contact)

Placing the electrodes on the back reduces light blocking losses. In the domestic market, distributed BC modules are priced approximately 0.1 yuan/watt higher than TOPCon, and centralized modules are priced approximately 0.05 yuan/watt higher. In overseas markets, the premium for distributed modules in Europe is close to 0.2 yuan/watt, while centralized modules are priced over 0.1 yuan/watt higher.

The premium of BC components in the European market is quite significant, with the premium in industrial and commercial scenarios reaching 35% and the premium in household scenarios reaching as high as 114%.

Efficiency breakthrough and cost control, dual-wheel drive development

The core of competition in photovoltaic cell modules is the balance between efficiency and cost.

Conversion efficiency continues to improve. Trina Solar's independently developed high-efficiency n-type fully passivated heterojunction (HJT) solar cell has achieved an efficiency rating of 27.08%. Liansheng Photovoltaic's perovskite/crystalline silicon heterojunction tandem cell has achieved an efficiency of 32.99%. It is projected that the average conversion efficiency of heterojunction cells will reach 26.2%, 26.4%, 26.6%, and 26.8% from 2025 to 2030, respectively.

Cost control capabilities continue to improve. The current cost gap between heterojunction cells and mainstream technology routes has narrowed to 0.04 to 0.05 yuan/watt. Risen Energy's heterojunction cell non-silicon cost is approximately 0.21 yuan/watt, with metallization costs down to 0.048 yuan/watt. The pure silver consumption of mass-produced heterojunction cells is less than 6mg/watt. Maxsun's latest 1.2GW heterojunction 4.0 production line can reduce non-silicon costs by 0.025 to 0.03 yuan/watt compared to older lines.

With the diversification of application scenarios, flexible component technology has made significant progress.

BC technology has transcended the limitations of distributed rooftop applications and is rapidly expanding into various centralized scenarios. By the first half of 2025, central state-owned enterprises such as Monneng Group (500MW), Datang Group (approximately 1GW), PetroChina (approximately 100MW), and South-to-North Water Diversion Group (approximately 300MW) had established BC as a permanent bidding project, with a total scale exceeding 2GW.

In overseas markets, LONGi's publicly reported overseas BC module orders in 2025 have exceeded 2.4GW.

Aixun's third-generation "full screen" modules have received orders exceeding 1GW in the European market, and its ABC modules have won the largest BC power station in Europe (340MW) and the largest BC power station in Africa (225MW).

Patent Environment and Market Prospects

In the rapidly evolving competition of photovoltaic cell technology, patent layout has become as important as R&D efficiency and manufacturing costs. The patent ecosystems of different technology routes vary:

HJT's basic core patents expired in 2015, creating a relatively open patent environment where companies can innovate based on this framework without having to pay basic patent licensing fees.

As a mainstream market player, TOPCon is also the most vulnerable to patent disputes. In 2025, the US company First Solar filed a lawsuit based on its patents, as well as multiple cross-litigations between leading domestic companies, highlighting the complexity of the patent landscape. Although some companies have obtained relevant patent licenses through licensing, they still need to be vigilant against potential infringement risks.

The basic patents for BC technology are held by a few overseas companies. Chinese companies need to pay close attention to their patent compliance issues when expanding into the global market, as some designs may require licensing.

Competition platform to promote the integration of technological innovation and industrialization

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's 3rd Energy Electronics Industry Innovation Competition's Solar Photovoltaic Track - Photovoltaic Cell /Module Competition is soliciting outstanding projects from the whole society.

Whether you are focused on high-efficiency battery technologies such as TOPCon, HJT, and BC , or are committed to process innovation for high-power and flexible modules ; whether your project is in the laboratory R&D stage or has entered pilot testing , as long as your innovation can solve industry pain points and has industrial potential, you are welcome to participate!

Authoritative industry experts, CTOs of leading enterprises, and representatives of industrial investment funds are all ready . They look forward to seeing your innovative achievements in this golden autumn and jointly promoting the advancement of photovoltaic technology and industrial upgrading.