PV Industry on the Move: Hot Materials, New Tech and Booming Global Markets in Sep 2026
The global photovoltaic industry has entered a new development phase in September 2026. The era of relying solely on production capacity expansion is over. Instead, industrial competition is now driven by material upgrading, low-carbon manufacturing, and solar-storage integration. This month, the PV sector has witnessed remarkable progress, including accelerated commercialization of new materials, updated global market policies, and continuous growth in worldwide PV installations. These positive trends have brought abundant opportunities for PV supporting materials, laying a solid foundation for the efficient and eco-friendly development of global solar energy systems.
Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells have become the most popular technological upgrade trend this year, with their commercialization speed accelerating significantly. Global PV manufacturers are actively promoting the large-scale application of tandem technology, with multiple GW-level cooperation projects launched overseas, bringing the total industrial cooperation scale beyond 19GW. Featuring strong technical compatibility, tandem cells can be upgraded based on existing N-type TOPCon production lines without large-scale equipment replacement, achieving a high module efficiency of over 29% while controlling manufacturing costs effectively. Meanwhile, the unified national standard for perovskite PV testing will be officially implemented in 2027, standardizing industry testing specifications and solving the problem of inconsistent data from different manufacturers, which paves the way for the large-scale commercialization of innovative PV materials.
With the rising popularity of high-efficiency modules, tandem cells, and Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV), the market has raised higher and more refined requirements for PV auxiliary materials, especially in weather resistance, sealing performance, UV resistance, and water & oxygen barrier capability. In response to industrial upgrading demands, we provide a full range of high-performance PV materials, including high-transmittance tempered PV glass, anti-aging EVA encapsulant films, and high-performance PV silicone sealants. Our products are perfectly compatible with G12 large-size modules, conventional TOPCon high-efficiency modules, and next-generation perovskite tandem modules. They effectively enhance the operational stability and service life of PV modules, fully adapting to the diversified application scenarios and high-end development trend of the global PV industry. In addition, innovative integrated PV auxiliary material processes have been widely applied, simplifying automated module assembly and promoting the intelligent and refined upgrading of the entire auxiliary material industry.
Global PV technology continues to break performance limits. On the 40th anniversary of the authoritative global PV certification institution, remarkable industrial achievements have been made. To date, the institution has certified 152 world records in PV efficiency, covering core products such as solar cells and modules. The highest certified efficiency of global PV modules has now reached 34.4%. Constantly updated efficiency records drive the iterative upgrading of cell and module technologies, and further push the upstream and downstream supporting materials to optimize performance and quality, boosting the continuous progress of the entire PV industrial chain.
Overseas policy adjustments are reshaping the global PV trade landscape, and low-carbon development has become a necessary threshold for PV export businesses. According to the latest EU plans, PV modules and mounting brackets will be included in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) starting from 2028. In the future, PV products exported to the EU need complete full-life-cycle carbon footprint data. The carbon emissions of PV frames, brackets, encapsulants, and other supporting materials will directly affect export costs and customs clearance. In this context, low-carbon PV materials and green production processes have become core competitive advantages for enterprises exploring global overseas markets.
Emerging markets remain the core driving force for global PV growth, with Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets maintaining strong momentum. Countries including Thailand and Malaysia have continuously launched rooftop PV subsidies and government-enterprise solar projects, vigorously stimulating demand for commercial and residential photovoltaic systems and driving steady growth in the market need for high-efficiency modules and supporting PV materials. Moreover, the global trend of solar-storage integration is gaining popularity worldwide. Matching energy storage systems effectively stabilize grid operation, further expanding the application scope and market potential of high-quality PV core materials.
According to forecasts from CPIA, global new PV installations will reach 612GW in 2026, with obvious differentiated growth across regional markets. Benefiting from superior solar radiation resources, the Middle East and Africa lead the global PV market with a growth rate of 48%. The American market maintains steady growth, while the European market enters a stable adjustment stage. In terms of the industrial chain, the prices of upstream silicon materials and silicon wafers remain at a low and stable level. Industrial competition has shifted from simple capacity expansion to comprehensive competition in material quality, low-carbon performance, and system solutions. Enterprises with full-category, high-performance, and low-carbon PV material supply capabilities stand out in global market competition.
