Global photovoltaic (PV) module shipments stabilized at the previous year’s record level of around 706 GW in 2025, according to the 17th edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV). The report is based on data from 38 companies and research institutions across the PV value chain. It can be downloaded free of charge via the Photovoltaic Production Equipment division of VDMA, which publishes the roadmap annually.
After sharp price declines in 2023 and 2024, average spot prices for crystalline silicon modules rose by around 9% by the end of 2025 compared with the end of the previous year. Despite this short-term rebound, the long-term trend of cost reduction remains intact: from 1976 to 2025, the learning rate for module prices averaged about 26%.
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Crystalline silicon technologies continue to dominate the market, accounting for roughly 98% of global PV production. Within this segment, monocrystalline Czochralski wafers remain standard, with n-type wafers reaching around 82% share and overtaking p-type. TOPCon maintained its leading position in 2025, while p-type PERC continued to lose market share. Looking ahead, the roadmap expects growing adoption of silicon heterojunction (HJT) and back-contact (BC) cell architectures, with tandem silicon cells likely entering mass production after 2027 and reaching double-digit market share within the next decade.
Material efficiency improvements continue across the supply chain. Silver consumption for bifacial TOPCon cells stood at around 10 mg/W in 2025, compared with 12 mg/W for HJT cells. Further reductions are expected by the mid-2030s, to around 6.3 mg/W for TOPCon and 4.3 mg/W for SHJ, driven by efficiency gains, advanced screen-printing techniques and continued reductions in finger widths. In total, around 7,244 tonnes of silver were used for module production in 2025—around 20% less than in 2024 and equivalent to roughly 21% of global silver output.
In manufacturing, laser-enhanced contact optimization (LECO) has become widely established in TOPCon production. The combination of homogeneous emitters and LECO reached a market share of around 74% in 2025 and is projected to rise to about 86% over the coming decade. Edge passivation after cell separation—such as passivated-edge technologies—is also gaining relevance as a pathway to further efficiency gains.
At module level, the roadmap highlights the continued expansion of large-format modules for utility-scale applications. Production facilities with annual capacities of 5 GW and above are expected to increasingly dominate the market, while sub-1 GW factories are likely to remain confined to niche and regional applications. The report also notes that PV manufacturing analytics will shift significantly over the next decade, driven by greater data transparency and the integration of intelligent assistance systems, with advanced tracking technologies acting as a key enabler.
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