Leading Chinese PV manufacturer LONGi has unveiled a hybrid interdigitated back contact (HIBC) solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 28.29%, a record for the company.
The new cell builds on a previous record of 28.13%, set in April, and marks the third time this year that the company has broken its record for HIBC cell efficiency. As was the case in April, the latest efficiency record was certified by the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) in Germany.
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LONGi showcased the new cells at an industry event this week in Romania, alongside 700W modules into which the new cells will be integrated. The company added that it has reached “successful mass production” of these modules, and confirmed to PV Tech today that the technology is used in its ‘EcoLife’ Hi-MO S10 series of modules and its 700MW Hi-MO 9 modules, both of which are available to purchase.
The news follows advances across a number of solar technologies in LONGi’s portfolio, as part of its plans to invest in “multiple mainstream cell technologies”. Earlier this year, the company developed a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 35.5%, marking an efficiency improvement of almost two percentage points in the last three years.
LONGi’s latest announcement comes following a challenging few months for the company and a number of other leading Chinese firms. In the first half of the year, LONGi Green posed net losses of as much as RMB4.2 billion (US$630 million), which would be on pace to exceed the RMB6.5 billion in losses endured in the entirety of 2025.
Crucially, back contact (BC) has emerged as an important technology to navigate through this challenging period, with LONGi Green posting a rise in the share of its BC module sales in the first half of this year, and fellow industry leader GCL-SI retrofitting existing lines for BC production. New rules in China could help eliminate “low-cost, outdated technology,” according to a report from PV Tech Research, and could encourage greater investment in higher-efficiency technologies such as BC.
