From lab to industrial application, TOPCon 2.0 ushers in a new starting point for the industry

　　On December 4th, Trina Solar officially launched a comprehensively upgraded and revolutionary至尊N-type series of components. The products cover large, medium, and small panel sizes, tailored for diverse application scenarios. Equipped with the company's self-developed i-TOPCon Ultra new technology, the cell conversion efficiency reaches up to 26.58%, directly boosting component power by 30-40W, bringing significant energy efficiency improvements and cost optimization to the industry.

　　This signifies that the second phase of large-scale TOPCon mass production efficiency improvement is imminent.

　　01 210 Makes TOPCon Even More Advanced

　　Trina Solar's TOPCon technology research and development began in 2015. It is the first company in China to obtain a patent in this field and has independently created the "i-TOPCon" double-sided cell structure with front and back contacts. Starting in 2018 to promote the industrialization of i-TOPCon cells, Trina Solar set a world record for large-area i-TOPCon cells within a year in 2019—24.58%.

　　In 2020, Trina Solar launched the至尊 series of components based on 210 silicon wafer technology, leading the industry into the 600W+ era. In 2021, Trina Solar combined i-TOPCon with 210-size product technology to form i-TOPCon Plus technology, and then launched the new generation i-TOPCon Advanced technology in 2023, opening the door to the industry's 700W+ era. With the superposition of the 210 technology platform, in October of this year, Trina Solar broke the world record held by TOPCon inventor Fraunhofer for 7 years, breaking through the "ceiling" and increasing TOPCon efficiency to 25.9%.

　　Just one month later, at the end of November, Trina Solar released the latest i-TOPCon Ultra technology, once again pushing the highest efficiency of TOPCon cells to 26.58%. A significant increase of over one percentage point in just two months, this achievement undoubtedly sets a new milestone for the photovoltaic industry.

　　Behind these extraordinary data is Trina Solar's strong technological research and development and innovation capabilities.

　　Dr. Chen Yifeng, Vice President of Trina Solar and Deputy Director of the National Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Science and Technology, said, "The breakthrough progress in cell efficiency this time is mainly due to significant advancements in passivation and metallization technologies. Currently, Trina Solar's i-TOPCon Ultra open-circuit voltage has reached 744.6mV. This excellent passivation level once again proves that TOPCon has enormous room for efficiency improvement, with a clear path for improvement, and a bright future."

　　At the same time, Dr. Chen Yifeng believes that the efficiency improvement of TOPCon cells has now reached the second stage and has pointed the way for future mass production. This also indicates that the large-scale mass production efficiency improvement stage of TOPCon 2.0 is imminent.

　　02  Chasing Answers to Questions

　　A company that can have a profound impact on an industry usually has the ability to keenly perceive problems, chasing answers to questions and seeking solutions to drive industry innovation and development.

　　Take the ultraviolet-induced degradation (UVID) problem as an example:

　　The 2024 Photovoltaic Component Index Report released by RETC, an internationally authoritative testing agency for renewable energy, shows that some component samples that have been in large-scale production and commercial use have experienced double-digit power degradation after being exposed to laboratory UV 220 kWh/m². This means that these components may experience 10%-16% power degradation in the first three years of operation, far exceeding the values in the component power warranty and system power generation warranty clauses.

　　Specifically, UVID will lead to performance degradation, material aging, and decreased cell performance in components, and TOPCon components are more sensitive to UVID. To address the UVID challenge, photovoltaic component manufacturers and research institutions need to develop more UV-resistant packaging materials and cell technologies and conduct stricter UVID tests on components.

　　In the early stages of Trina Solar's research and development of i-TOPCon battery components, the company had foresightedly foreseen the challenges in long-term reliability, especially the UVID problem. To this end, Trina Solar conducted in-depth research, and by improving the design and manufacturing process of the cell passivation film layer, significantly enhanced the resistance of its至尊N-type series components to ultraviolet radiation.

　　It is particularly noteworthy that Trina Solar's至尊N-type 720W series components successfully passed the stringent UV300 test in the TUV Rheinland certification with an ultra-low degradation rate of only 1.6%. The cumulative irradiance applied in this test is five times that of the UV60 standard. Based on this outstanding performance, Trina Solar proudly received the industry's first "Gold Sun Certification Certificate for Ultraviolet-Induced Degradation of Photovoltaic Components" from TUV Rheinland, marking its leading position in UVID protection technology.

　　New Round of Industry Value Upgrade, i-TOPCon Ultra Technology Increases Component Power by 40W

　　Previously, reports from several photovoltaic industry research institutions pointed out that TOPCon technology will continue to dominate in the next five years. Currently, the total TOPCon production capacity of leading companies in the industry has exceeded 1000GW. With advantages in unit cost, lower mass production difficulty, mature supporting equipment and auxiliary materials, TOPCon technology entered the efficiency improvement stage in 2024.

　　The i-TOPCon Ultra technology released by Trina Solar this time adopts highly efficient technologies such as fully passivated contact, suppression of optical parasitic absorption, and ultra-fine grid lines, upgrading Trina Solar's至尊N-type components to the TOPCon 2.0 version. The component efficiency is increased to 24.8%, and the power of large, medium, and small-size components reaches 760W, 670W, and 495W respectively, which can comprehensively meet customers' diverse needs in various scenarios.

　　Of course, a good product does not lie in how good the design is or how high the level is, but in meeting customer value; the greater the customer value, the greater the commercial value.

　　03  TOPCon 2.0 Customer Value Crushing

　　After calculation, the TOPCon 2.0至尊N-type components have significantly improved and shown excellent performance in key performance indicators such as power, conversion efficiency, bifaciality, temperature coefficient, and long-term reliability. In particular, its bifaciality is as high as 90%, bringing significant power generation gains to customers directly. In more than 70% of global bifacial scenarios, the unit power generation capacity of TOPCon components is 1.87-3.53% higher than TBC, and the power generation gain is also higher than TBC components by 0.082-0.145 yuan/W; in low-irradiance areas and single-sided scenarios, the power generation gain is also higher than TBC by 0.086-0.229 yuan/W.

　　Trina Solar is clearly fully prepared to continue leading the TOPCon 2.0 era. Trina Solar's strategic, product, and market负责人 said, "Trina Solar TOPCon 2.0 products can be upgraded based on existing production lines. Mass production and delivery will be achieved in the second quarter of 2025, with a planned production capacity of 10GW in 2025, and the scale can be quickly expanded to ensure global supply according to market demand."

　　In addition, in order to bring higher comprehensive value to customers, Trina Solar is also committed to promoting the substantial unification of product sizes. Its launched 210R size products have received positive responses and follow-up from most first-tier component manufacturers, winning widespread market recognition.

　　As Dr. Chen Yifeng conveyed, "One person can walk quickly, but a group of people can walk further and steadier." Based on this belief, in March this year, Trina Solar took the lead in joining forces with 10 upstream and downstream companies in the industrial chain, including Jiegao Weichuang, Juhe Materials, Diel Laser, Foster, and Yubang New Materials, to establish Jiangsu Qunchuang Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd., focusing on perovskite tandem cell technology. The aim is to build a pilot platform for next-generation battery technology and promote the industrialization process of next-generation battery technology. Chen Yifeng stated that TOPCon+Perovskite tandem technology is expected to achieve a battery efficiency exceeding 30% in the future, and TOPCon maintains strong vitality, continuously leading the industry's rapid and healthy development.

　　Looking ahead, with continuous R&D investment, close industry cooperation, and an open innovation ecosystem, Trina Solar will surely continue to break through technological bottlenecks and contribute more "Trina wisdom" to the global green transformation of energy structures.