CHUNGCHEONGBUK-DO < invest Korea

According to Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea,

South Korea`s Hanwha Solutions will roll out TOPCon, a next-generation solar cell, early next year to keep lead over Chinese competitors in advanced photovoltaic technology amid surging demand for climate and inflation goals.

TOPCon, short for tunnel oxide passivated contact, is a next-generation solar cell technology. With an oxide layer between silicon wafers, the TOPCon solar cell is more powerful and efficient than the traditional PERC cells that dominate 90 percent of the global solar cell market.

The new cell technology can improve a efficiency limit to 24.4 percent in power conversion, 1 percentage point higher than that of the PERC cell, according to an official from Hanwha Solutions. Higher efficiency indicates more energy production versus the equipment size.

Hanwha Solutions aims to start mass production of solar cell using TOPCon technology at its Jincheon plant in North Chungcheong province, Korea, in April 2023.

The Jincheon plant with a capacity of 4.5 gigawatts is devoted to PERC cells, but can be converted to manufacture TOPCon cells from existing lines.

With the commencement of TOPCon mass production, the Korean solar cell/module maker aims to stay competitive against its Chinese competitors. JA Solar Technology and other Chinese competitors have already started commercial production of TOPCon cells.

Hanwha also plans to speed up the development of tandem cells, more advanced solar cell technology with an efficiency limit of 35 percent. Its previous test on the tandem cell recorded 28.7 percent power conversion. The firm targets to start its mass output in June 2026.

Hanwha Solutions shares were up 2.42 percent to 46,500 won ($32.46) in the morning session on Friday.


By Oh Soo-hyun and Jenny Lee

Copyrights Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea. All Rights Reserved.

Source: Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea (Oct. 14, 2022)