Solar revolution 2025: Efficiency records shattered across silicon, perovskite, and organic technologies

The year 2025 has marked a historic turning point for the global photovoltaic (PV) industry. According to a new report published in the journal ENGINEERING Energy, the industry has transitioned into an era of "extreme efficiency optimization," with new world-record power conversion efficiencies (PCE) established for silicon, perovskite, and organic solar cells, as well as high-performance tandem configurations.

The editorial, authored by solar energy experts from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, highlights how fierce competition and technological innovation have pushed the boundaries of what was previously thought possible in solar harvesting.

The N-Type Dominance: Silicon Hits New Heights Silicon solar cells continue to lead the market, with annual production reaching approximately 600 GW in 2025. The report details a comprehensive industry-wide shift: n-type TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) technology now commands over 93% of the market share, completely superseding the older p-type PERC technology.

Efficiency milestones in the silicon sector include:

• TOPCon Records: Jinko Solar achieved a record efficiency of 26.67%, while Runergy reached 26.55%, driven by advances in surface passivation and laser processing.
• Silicon Heterojunction (SHJ): Trina Solar reported certified efficiencies of 27.08%, showcasing the potential of advanced nanocrystalline silicon layers.
• The Back-Contact (BC) Leap: Back-contact technologies emerged as the new efficiency frontier. Jinko Solar set a TBC (Tunnel oxide passivated Back-Contact) record of 27.79%, and LONGi pushed the limits even further with a THBC (TOPCon/SHJ Hybrid Back-Contact) efficiency of 27.90%, approaching the theoretical limit of 29.2%.

Perovskites and Tandems: Breaking the Single-Junction Barrier Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have seen rapid advancement toward commercial viability. Small-area single-junction perovskite cells reached a milestone efficiency of 27.3%, narrowing the gap between laboratory results and theoretical potential.

The most significant breakthroughs occurred in tandem structures, which combine multiple materials to capture a broader spectrum of sunlight:

• Perovskite/Silicon Tandems: These cells achieved a staggering certified efficiency of 34.85%, and even reached 35.0% in recent laboratory tests, marking a major step toward overcoming the Shockley-Queisser theoretical limit of single-junction cells.
• All-Perovskite Tandems: All-perovskite modules (100 cm2) reached 24.0% efficiency, demonstrating the scalability of this flexible and lightweight technology.

Organic Solar Cells Cross the 20% Threshold For the first time, organic solar cells (OSC)—noted for their flexibility and low manufacturing costs—have surpassed the 20% efficiency barrier. The report highlights a record PCE of 20.82% for single-junction organic cells and 21.5% for tandem organic structures. These gains were made possible through the development of novel ternary systems and advanced crystallization sequence manipulation.

A Future of Integrated Energy "The year 2025 has redefined industry competition," the authors state. Beyond just yield, the focus is now on precision manufacturing, nanometer-scale interface control, and computational optimization. As costs continue to fall, these efficiency gains are expected to accelerate the global transition to sustainable energy.

Journal Reference Information

JOURNAL: ENGINEERING Energy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-026-1050-8

Article Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11708-026-1050-8

Cite this article: Shen W, Zhao Y, Liu F. Highlights of mainstream solar cell efficiencies in 2025. ENGINEERING Energy, 2026, 20(1): 10508. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-026-1050-8