1) Tandems move from lab to (early) market.

  • Perovskite-on-silicon cells keep smashing records in the lab—34.85% certified for LONGi’s 2-terminal device, per NREL validation.
  • First commercial tandem modules have arrived: Oxford PV announced market panels around 24.5–25% module efficiency—well above premium silicon.
  • NREL’s record chart confirms the step-change pace across cell classes.

2) Next-gen silicon architectures go mainstream.

  • TOPCon, HJT and back-contact (HBC/HIBC) are pushing real-world module efficiencies into the ~25–26% range; examples include LONGi’s new HBC/HIBC modules (>700 W) and Trina’s HJT module record (25.44% module).
  • Market outlooks show TOPCon dominating near-term capacity, with back-contact variants growing fast.

3) New siting & formats: agrivoltaics, floating PV, and BIPV.

  • Agrivoltaics is scaling beyond pilots; recent studies/tooling highlight productivity and design trade-offs as projects grow. ScienceDirect+1
  • Floating PV is accelerating (APAC-led), with WoodMac forecasting ~77 GW by 2033. PV Tech
  • Building-integrated PV (solar shingles/façades) is getting real product upgrades (e.g., GAF’s higher-power shingles), useful where aesthetics/codes drive decisions. Electrek

4) Inverters: grid-forming & smarter interconnection.

  • Grid-forming (GFM) controls are moving from papers to products; Fraunhofer ISE completed multi-vendor testing in 2025, and operators see hosting-capacity gains with GFM batteries.
  • U.S. adoption of IEEE 1547-2018 (with UL 1741 SB) continues advancing state by state—important for advanced grid-support functions.

5) Reliability & sustainability: silver savings, recycling, and failure modes.

Recycling is catching up: new methods recover high-value materials from perovskite and silicon modules; IEA PVPS and Nature outline scalable pathways.

Big push to cut silver: copper-plated metallization on TOPCon/HJT is proving viable; Fraunhofer ISE reported SHJ cells at ~1.4 mg Ag/Wp (≈1/10th today’s norm).

Updated scorecards flag where modules still fail accelerated tests—and where glass-glass designs excel—useful for bankability screens.

What this means for Projects?

Procurement asks: certified efficiencies, PVEL/RETC results, 1547/UL 1741 SB compliance, hail/Tc/DH data, and silver-reduction roadmap from the vendor.

Near-term best value: high-efficiency n-type TOPCon with reputable BOMs and proven reliability data; pair with bifacial trackers where land and interconnection allow.

Watchlist for pilots/flagships: tandem modules (site a block to de-risk), GFM inverters for future grid compliance/hosting capacity, and agrivoltaics/floating PV where land or water rights create an edge.

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