Canadian Solar to start TOPCon solar module production in 2023

Solar module manufacturers are moving away from mono PERC solar technology and toward tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) and heterojunction (HJT), which both boast higher levels of power and efficiency. Canadian Solar is the latest to announce a TOPCon model.

Its majority-owned subsidiary CSI Solar Co. will start mass production of high efficiency n-type TOPCon solar modules in the first quarter of 2023. TOPCon module shipments are expected to account for around 30% of the company’s 2023 total module shipments. Monofacial TOPCon modules come with a 30-year limited performance warranty compared to 25-year for mainstream monofacial products in the market.

“The TOPCon modules will become one of our featured products with higher energy yield, lower LCOE and longer performance warranty, compared to the mainstream products in the market,” stated Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.

TOPCon module specs

Canadian Solar’s TOPCon modules have power output of up to 690W, and a cell conversion efficiency of around 25.0%, which is 1.5% higher than the average cell efficiency of the mainstream products in the market.

Canadian Solar says its various TOPCon products will meet the needs across utility-scale, commercial and residential markets and include:

• the 182mm cell based bifacial TOPBiHiKu6 (555W-570W) monofacial TOPHiKu6 (420W-575W) modules (available in Q1 2023)
• the 210mm cell based bifacial TOPBiHiKu7 (615W-690W) modules (mass production starts in the second quarter of 2023).

Other notable performance stats:

• Temperature coefficient of Canadian Solar’s TOPCon modules is as low as -0.30%/℃.
• No Boron-oxygen related LID (Light Induced Degradation) means less power degradation.
• Power degradation of the TOPCon modules was only 1.0% after 2,000 hours of damp and heat (DH2000) test, compared to 1.9% degradation of PERC modules under similar test.
• The bifaciality of TOPCon bifacial modules can reach up to 85%, with a significant power gain of around 2% compared to PERC bifacial modules under the similar field conditions.

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/products/canadian-solar-to-start-topcon-solar-module-production-in-2023/]