According to the latest statistics from Sobi PV, in the first quarter of 2024, the total number of PV module calibrations will exceed 97GW, jumping to more than 90%. This trend is widely recognized by the industry, indicating that the photovoltaic industry has officially entered the full n-type era in 2024.
Since 2022, n-type cell and module technologies have begun to be favored by more power investment companies, and the iteration speed has continued to break market expectations. According to the statistics of Sobi Consulting, many companies have taken n-type technology as an important direction of innovation and development, and at least 8 companies have clearly stated that the proportion of n-type products in the shipment target in 2024 will reach more than 80%, and the n-type shipment target of most companies will exceed 60%.
Among the n-type photovoltaic technology routes, TOPCon technology stands out because of its cost-effective, mature equipment and process flow, and takes the lead in becoming the mainstream technology of the new generation of industrialization. According to the 2023 data results of the National Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Demonstration Experimental Platform (Daqing Base), n-type TOPCon modules show significant advantages in the application side, with a power generation gain of up to 2.87%. In addition, there are still differences in the quality control of module processes of different manufacturers, and the deviation of module power generation of different manufacturers can reach up to 1.63% under the same technical conditions, which brings a test to the brand selection of power investment enterprises.
In the comprehensive n-type era, how to become an industry pioneer? We believe that the impact of n-type TOPCon technology level, production capacity, production process and cost control on the future pattern of the photovoltaic industry cannot be ignored.
As a leader in n-type technology, Yiyi Xinneng has firmly chosen the n-type TOPCon technology route since its inception, and has continuously increased technology investment in the field of R&D, rapidly growing into a leading player in the n-type market. In the list of photovoltaic module shipments in the first quarter of 2024 released by Sobi Photovoltaic Network & Sobi Consulting, Yiyi Xinneng ranked ninth with a brilliant performance of 4.5GW+, and the shipment volume of its n-type TOPCon products continued to maintain a leading position in the industry.
Technology-based
In 2013, the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany first proposed the TOPCon battery concept, and in 2017 set a record laboratory efficiency of 25.8%. Although the domestic market paid more attention to HJT technology at that time, the founding team of Yiyi Xinneng keenly captured the huge potential of TOPCon technology.
In 2019, Yiyi Xinneng, which was established only one year ago, took the lead in building the first domestic high-efficiency TOPCon 1.0 cell production line with an annual output of 1.2GW, almost starting from scratch, laying the foundation for the industrialization of domestic n-type technology and filling the gap in the industry. Since then, Yixin Energy has continued to innovate n-type battery technology, and in just 4 years, it has developed more than 4 generations of TOPCon technology, from TOPCon 1.0 to TOPCon 4.0plus, and all aspects of parameters have been continuously improved.
It is understood that TOPCon 4.0 plus mainly improves efficiency through three core technologies:
- The first is the innovation of passivation materials, and the new materials used in the backside passivation layer improve the carrier selection ratio and obtain a better passivation effect.
- The second is the innovation of the battery structure, which adopts a new structure of high spectral utilization, which increases the utilization rate of long wavelength and short wavelength in the solar spectrum of the battery by more than 15% respectively, and improves the anti-ultraviolet ability of the battery.
- The third is the innovation of the process method, which adopts the laser high-flux carrier injection process to reduce the contact resistance between the metal electrode and the silicon under the coupling of the light field, the thermal field and the electric field.
With the use of these new technologies, the open-circuit voltage of a new energy large-area TOPCon cell exceeds 742mV, and the mass production efficiency of the cell reaches 26.55%, setting a new mass production efficiency record.
At the same time, as an innovative enterprise, Yiyi New Energy attaches great importance to innovation and the awareness of independent intellectual property protection. According to the relevant personnel of the company, intangible assets such as advanced technology and patents of a new energy come from R&D personnel and front-line employees, and actively promote all kinds of innovation. Up to now, there have been 2 PCT applications for a new energy patent; There are 844 patent applications in China, of which nearly 50% are inventions, and 340 are authorized. More than 75% of the patents have been implemented and transformed into economic benefits, and the cumulative conversion revenue has exceeded 10 billion yuan.
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Efficiency first
At the 2nd Solar Energy Cup Innovation Sharing Conference hosted by Sobi Photovoltaic Network, Song Dengyuan, Chairman of SEMI China Photovoltaic Standards Technical Committee and Chief Technology Officer of Yiyi New Energy, pointed out that the ultimate goal of photovoltaic technology innovation is to reduce production costs by improving efficiency. In the current competitive landscape, TOPCon technology is more in line with the first principles of the photovoltaic industry due to its low cost and high efficiency.
In 2023, significant progress has been made in improving the efficiency of TOPCon cells, reaching an increase of almost 1%, showing the huge potential of TOPCon technology for efficiency improvement. Recently, the R&D team of Yixin Energy has continued to make breakthroughs in TOPCon cell technology, and has refreshed the world record of open-circuit voltage and conversion efficiency of large-area TOPCon cells for three consecutive times in just 8 months, effectively helping the mass production efficiency of n-type cells to enter a new era of 26%+, and steadily moving towards its theoretical limit of 28.7%.
In addition, Song Dengyuan emphasized that the characteristics of the photovoltaic industry are that it has energy attributes, which means that the cost of electricity is the focus of the final project party's decision-making, although the n-type TOPCon technology is the optimal solution that the industry can achieve by using existing technologies, but TOPCon should not be opposed to other technologies, and the technical routes are worth learning from each other to jointly promote the sustainable development of the photovoltaic industry.
While deeply cultivating the field of TOPCon, Yixin Energy has also forward-looking layout of other technical routes such as TBC, CSPC, TSiP and SFOS, among which SFOS technology is jointly developed with the Martin Green team at the University of New South Wales, with a cell efficiency of more than 40%. Through close cooperation with well-known scientific research institutions and universities at home and abroad, Yiyi New Energy has achieved phased results on the road of deep integration of industry, university and research, and continuously accelerated the practice and application of cutting-edge technologies.
Applications are king
At the recent Boao Forum for Asia, Liu Yong, chairman and president of Yiyi New Energy, said that relying on strong technological innovation capabilities, China's photovoltaic industry leads the development of the global photovoltaic industry. With the continuous advancement of the "dual carbon" goals of various countries, photovoltaics are playing a vital role in the transformation of the global energy structure.
As a provider of full-scenario photovoltaic system solutions, Yiyi Xinneng integrates its self-developed high-efficiency battery technology into product applications, and in the face of differentiated market demand, it has created three series of "photovoltaic +" application scenarios suitable for ecological photovoltaic, urban photovoltaic and offshore photovoltaic. Taking the high-efficiency DAON module product equipped with TOPCon 4.0 plus as an example, it has the performance advantages of high efficiency, high power, high bifaciality, low attenuation, and high reliability, which can effectively reduce the system BOS cost and LCOE, and is widely used in all scenarios such as offshore, desert, and urban photovoltaic power generation.
Starting from October 2023, a full range of products such as DAON single glass, double glass, rectangular, 0BB, and lightweight modules will be stationed in the "Mohe Extreme Cold Test Park of Guojian Group" for outdoor demonstration tests in extremely cold climates. After the test of cold winter, under the baptism of extremely cold temperature and blizzard, a new energy module has stable operation, showing excellent reliability and power generation performance, and has been widely recognized by end customers. At present, a new high-efficiency module has been widely used in various scenarios around the world, demonstrating its leading position in the global photovoltaic market with its n-type technology.
According to the forecasts of many institutions such as Sobi Consulting, in 2024, the new installed capacity of global photovoltaic power generation will increase by more than 15% on the basis of 2023 to reach 450GW (ac), and the demand for modules may exceed 560GW. In the future, it is expected that Yiyi New Energy will continue to give full play to its own innovation advantages, continuously promote the upgrading of the n-type technology industry, accelerate the creation of new quality productivity of green energy, and inject impetus into the construction of a clean and sustainable energy future.
Article source: Sobi Photovoltaic Network