“The photovoltaic industry has demonstrated resilience and continued technological advancement despite significant market challenges, according to the 17th edition of the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaics (ITRPV), released this week at Intersolar Europe.
The comprehensive report, compiled by 38 leading international companies and research institutes spanning the entire crystalline silicon (c-Si) value chain, reveals an industry in transition—shifting toward more efficient technologies while maintaining its historical cost reduction trajectory…
A headline finding is that the PV industry’s learning rate has increased to 26% for the period from 1976 to 2025, up from 24.9% in the 15th edition. This metric, which measures the price reduction for every doubling of cumulative production, demonstrates the industry’s continued ability to drive down costs despite recent market volatility.
After experiencing dramatic price drops in 2023 and 2024, driven by overcapacity and intense competition, module prices stabilised and even increased slightly by the end of 2025, reaching approximately US$0.09 per watt-peak (Wp), up by around US$0.01 at the end of 2024…
One pressing challenge in cell manufacturing is the high silver consumption for metallisation…
One pressing challenge in cell manufacturing is the high silver consumption for metallisation. The ITRPV report reveals that the 706GW of modules shipped in 2025 consumed approximately 7,244 tons of silver—representing about 21.4% of the world’s total silver supply…
Silver consumption varies by cell technology. In 2025, TOPCon bifacial cells consumed approximately 10mg per watt at the cell level (averaging M10 and G12 formats), while SHJ cells used 12.0mg/W and TOPCon-based back contact (TBC) cells required 12.2mg/W. The higher consumption in n-type concepts stems from the use of silver for both front and rear side metallisation, compared to p-type PERC’s lower requirement of around 8.9mg/W…
The report highlighted that overall silver consumption in 2025 was significantly below 2024 levels, demonstrating that reduction efforts are working. The roadmap projects aggressive reduction targets, with TOPCon cells expected to decrease to 6.3mg/W and SHJ cells to just 4.3mg/W within the next decade. For M10 format cells, silver consumption is projected to drop from approximately 90mg per TOPCon cell in 2025 to around 60mg by 2036.”
