The combined shipments of the top 5 solar cell suppliers in 2024 reached 162.8 GW, according to InfoLink Consulting, representing a decline of about 10.7% compared with 2023. In 2023, their total shipments totaled 182 GW. This officially ends the rapid growth of the past few years, claim the analysts.
During H1 2024, it had pegged their cumulative shipments at 77.96 GW, which means the 5 companies shipped 84.84 GW in H2 last year.
Technological trends
TOPCon takes over as the leading cell technology with 109.3 GW or 67% of the total shipments in 2024, followed by 53.5 GW of PERC cell shipments.
Square wafers still dominate their shipments with a combined 92.1 GW, accounting for about a 57% share. Rectangular wafer sizes saw their shipments totaling 70.7 GW, representing about 43% of the market share.
With the introduction of n-type cells, the market share of rectangular cells increased with more than 60% of the total shipments of the top 5 companies.
Sluggish market conditions, and ‘unclear terminal acceptance’ slowed down the progress of G12R large-size cells. The micro-rectangular long-side of 183.75 mm became the mainstream for TOPCon cells as these comprised 44% of the total shipments of the top 5 TOPCon cell suppliers, while the G12R accounted for about 19%.
PERC cells still remain in the market with 182 mm x 182.2 mm and 210 mm square cells due to the upgraded cost-effectiveness and overseas market demand, according to InfoLink analysts.
Price trends
An oversupply situation impacted the industry in 2024, as the rapid expansion of high-efficiency cell production capacity exacerbated the imbalance between supply and demand. Price trends fluctuated accordingly as TOPCon solar cells cost RMB 0.28/W at the end of December 2024, from RMB 0.47/W at the beginning of the year, a drop of 40%.
TaiyangNews Price Index has been covering the solar PV price trends across the supply chain on weekly basis. According to calendar week 7 of 2025, the 3 listed TOPCon cell types of 182 mm, 210 mm and 210R saw their prices increase by 1.7%, 1.7% and 3.5%, respectively, from CW6.
“Under cost pressure and upstream and downstream price squeeze, cell companies are struggling on the edge of profit and loss. Even technology leaders can hardly survive on their own, and the industry is in a deep winter,” opine analysts.
InfoLink points out that market prices fortunately started bottoming out by the end of 2024, bringing relief to manufacturers. Self-discipline will be the key in terms of production quota restrictions in various links of the supply chain for the industry to emerge from this winter.
They see the oversupply situation as ushering in a turnaround in the future, as the imbalance between market supply and demand moves toward repair.
Solar cell manufacturers
In its annual solar cell shipment ranking, InfoLink places Tongwei on the top thanks to its strong domestic and overseas channel advantages. It takes over from SolarSpace, which topped the list in the 1st half of the reporting year.
SolarSpace comes next on the list, remaining relevant with its continued offerings of PERC cells as well as launching n-type mainstream products in line with the trend. InfoLink adds that its Laos production base provided it an edge in terms of access to the US market.
The 3rd spot on the list belongs to Jietai Solar (JTPV), which is now among the preferred suppliers for TOPCon cells in overseas markets. “In 2024, the company's N-type battery shipments accounted for nearly 90%, showing strong growth potential. At the same time, the parent company Junda (Drinda) shares has forward-looking layout of the Oman 5 GW battery project, which is expected to radiate surrounding markets in addition to meeting domestic demand,” according to the analysts.
Drinda’s Oman factory is planned to start commercial operations in 2025.
The world’s 4th largest solar cell supplier in 2024, according to InfoLink, was Yingfa Group. Its n-type cell shipments pushed it into the global top 3 last year. Analysts commend the company for its steady business strategy and careful planning. In 2024, it is venturing into a strategic cooperation with LONGi Green Energy Technology for back contact (BC) technology which will further expand its market share.
Leading BC technology company AIKO rounds up the InfoLink list as the 5th solar cell supplier in the top 5 companies last year. It mostly uses these cells for self-consumption, these are not reflected in the external cell shipment data.
“Unlike other manufacturers, Aixu (AIKO) did not fully turn to TOPCon in 2024, and still focused on PERC products as the shipment center, becoming one of the few companies with P-type shipments accounting for more than 85%, and has taken a unique development path in the competition with peers,” states InfoLink.
