{"id":6982,"date":"2026-06-28T12:17:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:17:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/couleenergy.com\/?p=6982"},"modified":"2026-06-28T12:42:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T12:42:57","slug":"snec-2026-et-intersolar-europe-que-signifie-lannee-de-percee-du-solaire-a-contact-inverse-pour-les-acheteurs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/couleenergy.com\/fr\/snec-2026-and-intersolar-europe-what-back-contact-solars-breakout-year-means-for-buyers\/","title":{"rendered":"SNEC 2026 et Intersolar Europe\u00a0: Que signifie l\u2019ann\u00e9e de perc\u00e9e du solaire \u00e0 contact arri\u00e8re pour les acheteurs\u00a0?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Back-contact (BC) solar technology stopped being a “someday” technology in 2026. It now shows up on premium rooftops, commercial buildings, and curved, custom surfaces around the world. Two questions still trip up buyers, though. Can you actually source BC cells in volume? And where does flexible ETFE construction fit into the picture?\n <\/p>\n \n

\n This guide answers both. It pulls from the latest data out of SNEC 2026 and Intersolar Europe 2026, current manufacturing capacity figures, and the practical realities of sourcing custom BC modules. No price quotes, no fluff. Just what a buyer, engineer, or installer needs to plan the next 12 months.\n <\/p>\n \n

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\n Quick answer:<\/strong> BC technology now covers a real share of premium solar shipments, led almost entirely by LONGi and AIKO. Cell supply outside their own factories stays tight, so new buyers should plan for several months of lead time on firm allocation. The wafer market is shifting from square M10 (182 × 182 mm) toward rectangular G12R\/210R (182 × 210 mm). For flexible ETFE BC modules, supply planning matters even more, since order volumes are smaller and customization adds time.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n What Makes Back-Contact (BC) Cells Different\n <\/h2>\n \n

\n A standard solar cell has metal grid lines and busbars running across its front. BC cells move every electrical contact to the rear. Nothing sits on the front surface to block sunlight.[1]<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n \n

\n That single design change does three things. It frees up more cell area to absorb light. It removes the visible silver lines, giving an all-black look. And independent testing backs the efficiency claims: Germany’s Fraunhofer ISE has certified a 25.4% module efficiency world record on a BC design, and a 2025 industry white paper co-authored by LONGi, AIKO, TÜV Rheinland, and Chinese national certification bodies confirms mass-production BC cell efficiency has passed 27% — several points above mainstream front-contact cells.[2]<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n \n

\n You will see several brand names for the same underlying idea. LONGi calls its version HPBC. AIKO calls its version ABC, for “All Back Contact.” Engineers often use the general terms IBC or HIBC. They all describe cells with rear-side contacts.\n <\/p>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

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\n BC Manufacturing Capacity in 2026: Who Is Actually Producing at Scale\n <\/h2>\n \n

\n Headlines make BC sound like it is everywhere. In reality, two companies dominate true commercial-scale output.\n <\/p>\n \n

\n LONGi<\/strong> leads on raw volume. Stage 1 of its Xixian New Area BC cell project recently passed environmental acceptance, with 6.25 GW of capacity already built toward a 12.5 GW Phase I target. Mass-production cell efficiency has reached 27%, third-party verified, while module-level mass-production efficiency sits at 24.8% — mainstream modules now ship at 650–670 W, peaking at 680 W. LONGi shipped 8.34 GW of BC modules in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Out of an annual target near 80 GW, the company expects BC modules to make up more than 65% of total shipments this year, or over 52 GW.[3]<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n \n

\n AIKO<\/strong> leads on efficiency and growth rate. Its core ABC lines run at 10 GW in Zhuhai and 15 GW in Yiwu, with a newer Jinan base adding module and cell capacity through 2026.[4]<\/sup> On top of that base, AIKO is converting roughly 11 GW of existing PERC and TOPCon cell capacity at Yiwu and Chuzhou into ABC lines, with output ramping through the second half of 2026.[4]<\/sup> Shipments jumped from roughly 700 MW in 2023 to 6.3 GW in 2024 and 14.7 GW in 2025, with 2026 plans targeting over 20 GW. AIKO’s ABC modules now hold more than 21% of Europe’s residential solar market and back over 19 GW in utility-scale project awards.[5]<\/sup> Demand is already running ahead of near-term allocation: as of its Q1 2026 earnings briefing in May, AIKO’s module orders on hand exceeded 10 GW.[6]<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n \n

\n Other names are entering the space. TCL Zhonghuan, Skyworth PV, and SolarSpace all showed BC platforms at SNEC 2026.[7]<\/sup> Yingfa Ruineng<\/strong> remains the only specialized, independent merchant exporter of BC cells, operating under a 6 GW supply cooperation with LONGi.[8]<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n \n

\n Despite this activity, one widely cited statistic makes BC look like a rounding error: InfoLink puts BC at only about 1.7% of 2025 shipments among the world’s top five merchant cell<\/em> suppliers.[8]<\/sup> That number is accurate but easy to misread. It covers companies that sell bare cells on the open market — and it excludes LONGi entirely, since LONGi consumes almost all of its own cells internally rather than selling them. AIKO runs into the same blind spot on the module side: InfoLink’s own 2025 module-shipment ranking states plainly that, because AIKO and the major HJT suppliers aren’t part of that ranking, the published figures don’t fully capture BC’s or HJT’s true global market share.[15]<\/sup> The honest picture: BC is a small share of the open, merchant<\/em> cell-trading market, but a large and fast-growing share of the vertically integrated<\/em> module market, where LONGi and AIKO together are targeting more than 70 GW of BC module shipments in 2026 alone.\n <\/p>\n \n

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Manufacturer<\/th>\n BC Brand<\/th>\n 2026 Position<\/th>\n Standout Strength<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n
LONGi<\/td>\n HPBC 2.0<\/td>\n Targeting 52+ GW BC shipments<\/td>\n Largest scale, 27% mass-production cell efficiency<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
AIKO<\/td>\n ABC<\/td>\n Targeting 20+ GW shipments<\/td>\n Fastest efficiency gains, silver-free cell line<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
Yingfa Ruineng<\/td>\n BC cells (merchant)<\/td>\n Smaller but independent<\/td>\n Only meaningful arms-length cell exporter<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
TCL Zhonghuan \/ Skyworth \/ SolarSpace<\/td>\n Various new platforms<\/td>\n Early-stage in 2026<\/td>\n Worth watching for 2027 ramp-up<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/table>\n <\/div>\n \n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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\n SNEC 2026 and Intersolar Europe 2026: What Buyers Should Take Away\n <\/h2>\n \n

\n Both shows confirmed the same story from different angles: BC has moved from a display piece to a real competitive threat in premium segments.[7]<\/sup>\n <\/p>\n \n

A few highlights stood out:<\/p>\n \n