From 2019, an interesting trend started to appear in PV market, in which the increase of module peak power was not driven by improved cell efficiency , rather by bigger size module with larger wafer sizes, over the course of 2019 and 2020 modules of over 400W started to appear which evolve to more than 600W by 2021.
Today the Solar industry is rapidly shifting toward new Solar Panel technologies like N-Type, HJT, TOPCon, Ga-doped P-type Cell, Triple Cut Cell, Half Cut Cell with larger format PV modules with power ratings more than 500Wp. These new technologies promise higher efficiency, better performance in varied operating temperatures and reduced impact from shading, resulting in lower LCOE and higher ROI.
Here we will discuss recent trends in large format modules and technology roadmap for Large Format Module manufacturers.
Large Format Wafer Size : M2- 158.75mm2, M4- 161.75mm2, M6- 166mm2, M10- 182mm2, M12- 210mm2.
As per ITRPV 2021 version it is expected that M2 version of Mono-Si wafer will disappear after 2025. M6 will gain market share and appears to be a transition format from 2021. M10 and M12 format will be dominating the market from 2025 onwards. It is not clear yet which of the two formats will be dominating in future as both have advantages and disadvantages.
We will later analyse recent trends in Cell manufacturing in terms of M10 or M12 wafer production.
Recently launched New Products in SNEC 2021 version is given in the below list.
| Company | Product | Output (W) | Conversion eff (%) | Technology Route | Cell Size | Notes |
| LONGi | Hi-MON | 570 | 22.3 | TOPCon | 182mm | HPC Cell technology, 72 Cell |
| JA Solar | DeepBlue 3.0 Pro | 605 | 21.70% | Zero Spacing, 11BB HC Cell | 182mm | Single Glass, 78Cell, Ga-doped |
| JA Solar | HJT | 580 | 22.40% | HJT, HC Cell, MBB | 182mm | 72Cell, bifacial ratio >85% |
| JA Solar | N-Type | 620 | 22.10% | N-type, HC Cell, MBB | 182mm | 78Cell |
| Jinko Solar | Tiger Pro n-type 78 TR-TV | 625 | 22.86% | N-type, HC Cell, MBB | 182mm | Transparent Backsheet |
| Jinko Solar | Tiger Pro 54HC | 415 | 21.25% | MBB, HC Cell | 182mm | 54Cell, Suitable for residential project |
| Trina Solar | HJT | 710 | 22.55% | HJT, HC Cell, MBB Small Spacing | 210mm | Non Destructive Cutting |
| Trina Solar | N-type i-TOPCon | 700 | 22.30% | N-type, i-TOPCon, MBB | 210mm | |
| Trina Solar | Vertex | 670 | 21.60% | HC Cell, MBB | 210mm | High density encapsulation |
| Jolywood | Niwa Max JW-HD132 | 700 | 22.53% | HC Cell, MBB | 210mm | Bifacial G-G, mass production expected in Q2 2022 |
| GCL-Poly | M12 bifi G-G | 670 | 21.60% | HC Cell, MBB | 210mm | |
| Seraphim | S-Vsense bifi HC | 670 | 21.57% | MBB, HC Cell bifi | 210mm | |
| Seraphim | S-IV sense bifi HC | 550 | 21.57% | MBB, HC | 182mm | High density encapsulation |
| Seraphim | S-III HC Module | 460 | 21.16% | MBB, HC | 166mm | |
| Sunport Power | C10 Pro MWT + HJT | 700 | 22.80% | MWT, HJT, HC | Suitable for super thin wafer | |
| Sunport Power | M7 bifacial G-G | 460 | 21.10% | MWT, PERC, HC Cell | 166mm | Bifacial G-G, 182mm and 210mm Cell |
| Tongwei | Shingled G-G HJT | 705 | Shingled Module, HJT | 210mm | G-G | |
| Tongwei | Shingled G-G TOPCon | 695 | Shingled Module, TOPCon | 210mm | G-G | |
| Suntech | Ultra V | 550 | 21.30% | MBB, HC Cell | 210mm | 72 Cell |
| Suntech | Ultra Plus | 650 | 21.20% | HC Cell, 12BB | 210mm | 66 Cell |
| Canadian Solar | HiKu7 | 670 | 21.60% | MBB, HC Cell, Small Spacing | 210mm | |
| Canadian Solar | BiHiKu7 | 600 | 21.20% | HC Cell, 12BB | 210mm | Bifi, G-G |
| Canadian Solar | HiHero | 430 | 22% | HJT,MBB, HC | 182mm | |
| Jinergy | JNHM156-50 | 510 | HJT, HC MBB | 166mm | Bifi rato > 85% | |
| Risen | NewT@N | 700 | 22.50% | N-type, MBB, HC Cell | 210mm | High density packaging |
| Chint | ASTRO6 Semi | 670 | 21.75% | MBB, HC Cell | 210mm | ga-doped wafer |
| Chint | ASTRO6 Twins | 660 | 21.57% | MBB, HC Cell | 210mm | bifacial G-G |
| Yingli | Aerospace PRO Series | 540 | MBB, HC Cell | Single Glass | ||
| Talesun | BIPRO TD 8 | 675 | 21.40% | HC Cell, MBB | 210mm | Bifi G-G |
| Akcome | HJT | 700 | 22.53% | HJT, 9BB, HC | ||
| HT-SAAE | HT78-18X | 600 | 22% | HC Cell, 10BB | 182mm | 78Cell, 1.5KV |
| CECEP Solar | 650 | 21% | HC, MBB | 210mm | 60Cell | |
| Znshine | 600 | 21.40% | HC Cell, 10BB | 182mm | 78Cell, bifacial |
Source : Firstview Research, PVTech.
From the above list of recently launched Large Format modules by top manufacturers it is evident that we are in a transition period from P-type Mono to N-type mono, HJT, TOPCon etc. N type module comes with its greater reliability with respect to LID, LeTid, PID etc.
From the above chart it is evident that the Large Format Module power output range is going to be around 500W to 710W.
From the above chart it is evident that the Large Format Module efficiency range is going to be around 21% to 22.86%.
From the list of new products it is evident that out of total 30 manufacturers, 43.6% are using M12 size of Cell , 48.7% are using M10 size of Cell and only 7.7% are using M6 size of Cell. This trend is in line with ITRPV 2021 prediction.
Present trend of Larger Size Wafer/ Cell Supply Chain:
| PV Cell Supplier | Plant Capacity (MW) | Cell Size |
| Aiko Solar | 22000 | M12 (210mm) p-type mono PERC, M6(166mm) bifi mono PERC, M3 (161.7mm) mono PERC, M2 (158.75mm) mono PERC |
| Tong Wei (TW) Solar | 35000 | M12 (210mm) (9BB), M6,Shingled (166mm)(9BB), G2 mono (9BB), M2 SHJ (HJT) (9BB) |
| Jinko Solar | 11000 | M6 (166mm) P-type mono PERC, N-type Poly Cell, N-type TOPCon mono |
| Longi Solar | 30000 | M6 (166mm) P-type mono PERC, N-type Poly Cell, N-type TOPCon Mono |
| Longi Solar | 30000 | M10 (182mm), M6 (166mm) |
| Hanwa Q-Cell | 10000 | |
| Canadian Solar | 9600 | M10 (182mm) mono PERC, M6 (166mm) mono PERC |
| REC Solar | 1800 | HJT (P-type) |
