Two Chinese Companies Set New World Records for Solar Cell Efficiency
Chris Bonasia
PixTreats/pixabay
The next generation of solar panels is getting dramatically better at turning sunlight into electricity, and the technology is being readied for mass production.
Two Chinese solar companies broke solar cell efficiency records in April. Trina Solar announced its new back-contact solar cell, a design that moves all electrical contacts to the rear of the panel so nothing blocks incoming sunlight, had reached a conversion efficiency of 28%. The result was independently certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH). It was the first time a large-format silicon cell of its kind had reached that benchmark. PV Magazine reported that the company already has plans to mass produce the cell.
LONGi, also based in China, announced it had reached 28.13% efficiency with its own “hybrid interdigitated” back-contact (HIBC) cell, also certified by ISFH. When it comes to solar efficiency, fractions of a percent can determine whether a record stands. LONGi had set its previous 28.04% efficiency record for the HIBC cell just months earlier in January 2026.
“These hardcore breakthroughs in technological strength have already translated into a leading edge in mass production,” the company said in its press release.
Trina Solar and LONGi’s products are both made with silicon, the most common material used in solar cells. But cells can also be made with perovskite—which is cheaper and has greater light absorption potential, but has been less tested in the industry, explains Ossila, a United Kingdom-based science products company. According to BBC News, silicon-only cells have a theoretical maximum efficiency of around 33%, while perovskite cells have a theoretical maximum above 47%.
Solar panels in operation today generally have an efficiency of 20 to 22.5%, Energy Sage says.
The two materials can also be combined: last April, LONGi achieved 34.85% efficiency with a solar cell using both perovskite and silicon.
Another team of Chinese scientists made a breakthrough with perovskite, attaining a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.3% with rigid perovskite tandem solar cells, and 28% with a flexible version, writes Interesting Engineering.
Perovskite solar cell technology may be stepping up to large-scale production soon after Tandem PV, a high-efficiency perovskite-silicon panel maker, recently opened a commercial demonstration factory in Fremont, California. A company release says the 65,000-square-foot facility has capacity for 40 megawatts each year, and is “intended to validate large-format production and accelerate market adoption.”
Canary Media reports that perovskite solar technology can help the solar industry overcome the long-term problem of eventually reaching the limits of silicon’s potential efficiency.
“Even though we’re at 30%, there’s so much more room to improve, whereas silicon is kind of hitting its natural limits,” said Tandem CEO Scott Wharton. “They’ve basically squeezed almost all the lemon juice they’re going to get out of that lemon.”
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Two Chinese Companies Set New World Records for Solar Cell Efficiency
PixTreats/pixabay
The next generation of solar panels is getting dramatically better at turning sunlight into electricity, and the technology is being readied for mass production.
Two Chinese solar companies broke solar cell efficiency records in April. Trina Solar announced its new back-contact solar cell, a design that moves all electrical contacts to the rear of the panel so nothing blocks incoming sunlight, had reached a conversion efficiency of 28%. The result was independently certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH). It was the first time a large-format silicon cell of its kind had reached that benchmark. PV Magazine reported that the company already has plans to mass produce the cell.
LONGi, also based in China, announced it had reached 28.13% efficiency with its own “hybrid interdigitated” back-contact (HIBC) cell, also certified by ISFH. When it comes to solar efficiency, fractions of a percent can determine whether a record stands. LONGi had set its previous 28.04% efficiency record for the HIBC cell just months earlier in January 2026.
“These hardcore breakthroughs in technological strength have already translated into a leading edge in mass production,” the company said in its press release.
Trina Solar and LONGi’s products are both made with silicon, the most common material used in solar cells. But cells can also be made with perovskite—which is cheaper and has greater light absorption potential, but has been less tested in the industry, explains Ossila, a United Kingdom-based science products company. According to BBC News, silicon-only cells have a theoretical maximum efficiency of around 33%, while perovskite cells have a theoretical maximum above 47%.
Solar panels in operation today generally have an efficiency of 20 to 22.5%, Energy Sage says.
The two materials can also be combined: last April, LONGi achieved 34.85% efficiency with a solar cell using both perovskite and silicon.
Another team of Chinese scientists made a breakthrough with perovskite, attaining a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.3% with rigid perovskite tandem solar cells, and 28% with a flexible version, writes Interesting Engineering.
Perovskite solar cell technology may be stepping up to large-scale production soon after Tandem PV, a high-efficiency perovskite-silicon panel maker, recently opened a commercial demonstration factory in Fremont, California. A company release says the 65,000-square-foot facility has capacity for 40 megawatts each year, and is “intended to validate large-format production and accelerate market adoption.”
Canary Media reports that perovskite solar technology can help the solar industry overcome the long-term problem of eventually reaching the limits of silicon’s potential efficiency.
“Even though we’re at 30%, there’s so much more room to improve, whereas silicon is kind of hitting its natural limits,” said Tandem CEO Scott Wharton. “They’ve basically squeezed almost all the lemon juice they’re going to get out of that lemon.”
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PixTreats/pixabay
The next generation of solar panels is getting dramatically better at turning sunlight into electricity, and the technology is being readied for mass production.
Two Chinese solar companies broke solar cell efficiency records in April. Trina Solar announced its new back-contact solar cell, a design that moves all electrical contacts to the rear of the panel so nothing blocks incoming sunlight, had reached a conversion efficiency of 28%. The result was independently certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH). It was the first time a large-format silicon cell of its kind had reached that benchmark. PV Magazine reported that the company already has plans to mass produce the cell.
LONGi, also based in China, announced it had reached 28.13% efficiency with its own “hybrid interdigitated” back-contact (HIBC) cell, also certified by ISFH. When it comes to solar efficiency, fractions of a percent can determine whether a record stands. LONGi had set its previous 28.04% efficiency record for the HIBC cell just months earlier in January 2026.
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“These hardcore breakthroughs in technological strength have already translated into a leading edge in mass production,” the company said in its press release.
Trina Solar and LONGi’s products are both made with silicon, the most common material used in solar cells. But cells can also be made with perovskite—which is cheaper and has greater light absorption potential, but has been less tested in the industry, explains Ossila, a United Kingdom-based science products company. According to BBC News, silicon-only cells have a theoretical maximum efficiency of around 33%, while perovskite cells have a theoretical maximum above 47%.
Solar panels in operation today generally have an efficiency of 20 to 22.5%, Energy Sage says.
The two materials can also be combined: last April, LONGi achieved 34.85% efficiency with a solar cell using both perovskite and silicon.
Another team of Chinese scientists made a breakthrough with perovskite, attaining a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.3% with rigid perovskite tandem solar cells, and 28% with a flexible version, writes Interesting Engineering.
Perovskite solar cell technology may be stepping up to large-scale production soon after Tandem PV, a high-efficiency perovskite-silicon panel maker, recently opened a commercial demonstration factory in Fremont, California. A company release says the 65,000-square-foot facility has capacity for 40 megawatts each year, and is “intended to validate large-format production and accelerate market adoption.”
Canary Media reports that perovskite solar technology can help the solar industry overcome the long-term problem of eventually reaching the limits of silicon’s potential efficiency.
“Even though we’re at 30%, there’s so much more room to improve, whereas silicon is kind of hitting its natural limits,” said Tandem CEO Scott Wharton. “They’ve basically squeezed almost all the lemon juice they’re going to get out of that lemon.”
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PixTreats/pixabay
The next generation of solar panels is getting dramatically better at turning sunlight into electricity, and the technology is being readied for mass production.
Two Chinese solar companies broke solar cell efficiency records in April. Trina Solar announced its new back-contact solar cell, a design that moves all electrical contacts to the rear of the panel so nothing blocks incoming sunlight, had reached a conversion efficiency of 28%. The result was independently certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH). It was the first time a large-format silicon cell of its kind had reached that benchmark. PV Magazine reported that the company already has plans to mass produce the cell.
LONGi, also based in China, announced it had reached 28.13% efficiency with its own “hybrid interdigitated” back-contact (HIBC) cell, also certified by ISFH. When it comes to solar efficiency, fractions of a percent can determine whether a record stands. LONGi had set its previous 28.04% efficiency record for the HIBC cell just months earlier in January 2026.
View our latest digests
“These hardcore breakthroughs in technological strength have already translated into a leading edge in mass production,” the company said in its press release.
Trina Solar and LONGi’s products are both made with silicon, the most common material used in solar cells. But cells can also be made with perovskite—which is cheaper and has greater light absorption potential, but has been less tested in the industry, explains Ossila, a United Kingdom-based science products company. According to BBC News, silicon-only cells have a theoretical maximum efficiency of around 33%, while perovskite cells have a theoretical maximum above 47%.
Solar panels in operation today generally have an efficiency of 20 to 22.5%, Energy Sage says.
The two materials can also be combined: last April, LONGi achieved 34.85% efficiency with a solar cell using both perovskite and silicon.
Another team of Chinese scientists made a breakthrough with perovskite, attaining a certified power conversion efficiency of 30.3% with rigid perovskite tandem solar cells, and 28% with a flexible version, writes Interesting Engineering.
Perovskite solar cell technology may be stepping up to large-scale production soon after Tandem PV, a high-efficiency perovskite-silicon panel maker, recently opened a commercial demonstration factory in Fremont, California. A company release says the 65,000-square-foot facility has capacity for 40 megawatts each year, and is “intended to validate large-format production and accelerate market adoption.”
Canary Media reports that perovskite solar technology can help the solar industry overcome the long-term problem of eventually reaching the limits of silicon’s potential efficiency.
“Even though we’re at 30%, there’s so much more room to improve, whereas silicon is kind of hitting its natural limits,” said Tandem CEO Scott Wharton. “They’ve basically squeezed almost all the lemon juice they’re going to get out of that lemon.”
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I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
…
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