Chinese solar manufacturing major Trina Solar has secured an order from a global distributed energy customer for its perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem solar modules.
According to the firm, this is the first commercial deployment of tandem PV products in a distributed energy application. The company said the deal also represents the first time a tandem PV product developed in China has been sold into the global market.
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The modules supplied under the order are based on Trinasolar’s perovskite/crystalline silicon tandem technology, which the company said has achieved power output of more than 900W in testing. The company added that it has completed the industrial design and development of the modules and aligned them with residential PV application standards.
According to the company, the tandem modules offer higher conversion efficiency than conventional crystalline silicon products. Trinasolar said this could reduce balance-of-system (BOS) costs by between 15% and 20%.
The company also said the modules have improved temperature performance and low-light generation characteristics, which could increase energy generation per unit area by 20% to 30% compared with mainstream crystalline silicon modules.
Edison Zhou, head of Trina Solar’s Asia-Pacific Region, said, “The successful deployment of this New Zealand project represents a key milestone in the global commercialization of Trina Solar’s tandem technology. It fully validates the global adaptability and competitive advantages of our independently developed tandem products. This project establishes a replicable benchmark model for expanding tandem technology into premium distributed energy markets worldwide, improve the global strategic layout.”
Trinasolar described the New Zealand market as a “premium residential solar market with high requirements for module efficiency, reliability and long-term energy yield”. The project marks the transition of its tandem technology from laboratory-scale development to commercial deployment.
The company added that growing demand for higher-efficiency products in distributed solar markets could support wider adoption of tandem technology, particularly in premium rooftop applications.
Recently, Trina Solar unveiled its tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon), heterojunction (HJT) and back contact (BC)-based hybrid passivated back contact (THBC) technology. The company claimed the technology was the first in the industry to achieve a conversion efficiency of more than 28.0% on large-format 210R solar cells.
