Chinese solar module manufacturer JinkoSolar achieved a power conversion efficiency of 26.6% for an industrial-scale TOPCon solar cell based on an M10-size wafer.
The achievement, which represents a world record for industrial-scale solar cells, was certified by an independent, undisclosed organization in China.
The device was developed with the support of scientists from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with scientists from Soochow University and Jiliang University. It was described in the paper “Dual-side electrical refinement enables efficient industrial tunnel oxide passivating contact silicon solar cells,” published in nature energy.
The team used an M10 wafer with an effective area of 313.3 cm², consistent with modern industrial-scale production standards.
On the cell’s front side, the researchers combined high-sheet-resistance boron emitters with optimized grid designs, improving surface passivation and reducing carrier transport losses. On the rear, they implemented a novel double-layer tunnel oxide/polysilicon structure to mitigate metallization-induced degradation.
This design includes a highly crystalline inner polysilicon layer and an outer barrier layer that blocks silver diffusion from the electrodes into the silicon substrate, ensuring excellent interfacial passivation, according to the research team.
Tested under standard illumination conditions, the cell achieved an efficiency of 26.6%, an open-circuit voltage of 744.6 mV and a fill factor of 85.57%. Thinning the rear polysilicon layer further increased the cell’s bifaciality to 88.3%, boosting overall energy yield.
“The device has achieved 83.8% of the theoretical efficiency limit, outperforming conventional TOPCon solar cells,” said the study’s lead author, Jichun Ye.
JinkoSolar currently also holds the world record efficiency of 27.02% for a lab-scale TOPCon solar cell, verified by China’s National Photovoltaic Industry Measurement and Testing Center (NPVM).
By 2028, JinkoSolar expects to cross the 28% threshold, it said in a recent white paper.
The company also recently announced it achieved a power conversion efficiency of 25.58% for a TOPCon panel, with the result being certified by certification body TÜV SÜD.
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