LONGi Solar kicks off this year's Intersolar with "Leading into Infinity" at Venue A2, Booth 170. The theme is intended to reflect LONGi's achievements in R&D - in solar and hydrogen technologies. In PV, the company's first principle is to constantly strive to improve cell efficiency.
As a result, at Intersolar, LONGi will be exhibiting module innovations all based on back-contact technology, underscoring its firm belief that BC technology will be the solar technology of the near future due to its efficiency improvement potential.
Also, the company will introduce its Hi-MO X6 Max Series with the new M11 rectangular wafer based on TaiRay Inside technology and announce its 18th consecutive cell efficiency world record at Intersolar, further demonstrating its unparalleled R&D activities with an annual expenditure of approximately five percent of operating income.
The following is a selection of LONGi’s topics and exhibits during Intersolar Europe 2024 in Munich.
Focus on Back Contact Technology and its Enhancement
LONGi will showcase five module innovations based on back contact technology for the DG as well as Utility segment: the Hi-MO X6 Max Scientist, the new premium module Hi-MO X6 Artist Ultra Black, the Hi-MO X6 Max Anti-Dust and Anti-Humidity as well as the Hi-MO 9 based on the second generation of HPBC.
LONGi believes that the BC technology platform is a necessary path towards the ultimate efficiency of crystalline silicon cells. PV technology based on the BC platform requires the whole industry to "infinitely explore" under the guidance of scientific and technological innovation, and continuously pursue the "ultimate peak" conversion efficiency.
LONGi’s premium module Hi-MO X6 Artist Ultra Black
Intersolar marks the official launch of LONGi’s back contact PV module Hi-MO X6 Artist Ultra Black from the premium segment. It is a pure black dual-glass module with LONGi’s back contact technology HPBC and up to 1.54% higher power generation compared to TOPCon modules under low light conditions.
LONGi achieved a new level of black through developing a dedicated standard black, designing a special glass surface structure and deploying a premium cell selection process using automated optical inspection (AOI) during the manufacturing process.
This creates a consistent 360-degree black optical effect at different installation angles. In addition, the dual-glass module features a thicker glass front and POE film (Polyolefin Elastomer) for the module’s encapsulation, providing higher reliability and safety. Hi-MO X6 Artist Ultra Black has been honored with two design awards for its premium aesthetics.
Hi-MO X6 MAX-Series with rectangular M11 wafer
The new series incorporates the core characteristics of LONGi's Hi-MO X6 with its proprietary HPBC (Hybrid Passivated Back Contact) technology and is now additionally equipped with LONGi’s new M11 wafer with TaiRay Inside technology. The TaiRay Inside technology provides significant improvements in module efficiency, degradation parameters and mechanical performance.
The Max version will be available for the Hi-MO X6 product series including the Explorer, the Scientist, the Guardian and the Artist. The new series entered mass production in Q2 2024 with a complete transition for all mainstream products expected by Q3 2024. The production capacity is expected to exceed 30GW.
Also read our interview with Leon Zhang, President Utility Europe of LONGi
Production will be carried out at LONGi's manufacturing base in Jiaxing which has been recognized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a ‘Global Lighthouse’ factory making it the world's first solar module manufacturing base to become part of the WEF's Global Lighthouse Network (GLN).
The Scientist version will be on display during Intersolar. With an HPBC cell efficiency of more than 25.8%, the 72-cell module achieves a module efficiency of 23.3% and a maximum power output of 630 watts.
The 54-cell module delivers a maximum of 475 watts. The launch of the new wafer size represents LONGi’s first large-scale transition to rectangular silicon wafers resulting in a wafer size of 182.2×191.6mm and a diagonal of 262.5mm. A 72-cell module has a size of 2382×1134mm and a 54-cell module has a size of 1800x1134.
Guardian Anti-Dust solar module
The Hi-MO X6 Max Guardian Anti-Dust is suited for the residential, as well as the industrial market (C&I) and features an anti-dust short end frame design that addresses the persistent problem of dirt accumulation on solar panels. It is designed to allow dust to naturally slide off the module under the influence of gravity and rainfall. 120 patents have been used in the design and development of Guardian Anti-Dust. Additionally, the module is equipped with LONGi’s new rectangular M11 wafer using the TaiRay Inside technology.
Second generation of HPBC with the Hi-MO 9
The Hi-MO 9 is a solar module for ground-mounted solar installations with a power output of up to 660W. It is based on the 2nd generation Hybrid Passivated Back Contact (HPBC) solar cell technology and the TaiRay wafer with a conversion efficiency with of up to 24.43%. The module is designed to excel in a range of harsh environments, including lakes, mountains and deserts.
World record solar cells and TaiRay Wafer
Heterojunction back-contact (HBC) cell
LONGi will exhibit the new silicon heterojunction back-contact (HBC) solar cell designed by LONGi with an efficiency of 27.30% under laboratory conditions. In May, the company announced that with this new cell, it would have broken another world record for silicon solar cell efficiency only four months after it last set a world record in this area. The world record was certified by Germany’s Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH).
Crystalline Silicon-Perovskite Tandem solar cells
In November 2023, LONGi announced a new world record of 33.9% for the efficiency of crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells. The record efficiency surpassed the Shockley-Queisser (S-Q) theoretical efficiency limit of 33.7% of single junction solar cells for the first time. This provided meaningful empirical data to demonstrate the advantages of crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells over crystalline silicon single junction solar cells in terms of efficiency.
TaiRay silicon wafer for TOPCon, heterojunction and back-contact cells
LONGi recently presented its newly developed TaiRay silicon wafers which are suitable for the currently prevailing solar technologies such as TOPCon, heterojunction (HJT) and back contact cells (BC). They show an efficiency increase of approx. 0.1% for the cell technologies mentioned.
The new wafers are the result of three years of intensive research and development by a LONGi R&D team of several hundred employees. The TaiRay wafers and their benefits are the result of an improved Recharge Czochralski (RCz) process used in the production of monocrystalline silicon ingots. (hcn)
