XI'AN, China – April 28, 2026 – LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd., a global leader in renewable energy technology, today announced a groundbreaking achievement that redefines the boundaries of photovoltaic performance. The company's independently developed Hybrid Interdigitated-Back-Contact (HIBC) solar cell has achieved a certified photoelectric conversion efficiency of 28.13%, setting a new world record for crystalline silicon solar cells and marking yet another significant stride toward the theoretical efficiency limit of the technology.
From Record to Record in Just Three Months
The historic milestone comes just three months after LONGi set a previous world record of 28.04% efficiency in January 2026. By pushing the benchmark further to 28.13%, the Xi'an-based solar giant has demonstrated an unprecedented pace of technological iteration in one of the world's most competitive clean energy sectors.
The achievement was independently certified by the Institute for Solar Energy Research Hamelin (ISFH) in Germany, one of the most prestigious photovoltaic testing institutions globally. But LONGi did not stop at cell-level success. In a complementary breakthrough, modules fabricated using the same HIBC cell technology have been certified by the U.S. National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL) with an efficiency of 26.4% - surpassing the company's own previous module efficiency ceiling of 26%.
HIBC: The "Ultimate Solution" for Single-Junction Silicon
Behind these world-leading numbers lies a sophisticated engineering achievement. The HIBC cell, developed by LONGi's Central R&D Institute, is described by the company as the "ultimate solution" for single-junction crystalline silicon cell technology - a culmination of the best attributes of various photovoltaic architectures.
What makes the HIBC cell truly distinctive is its fusion of multiple advanced technologies. LONGi's R&D team has innovatively introduced two core breakthroughs: in-situ Patterned Edge Passivation (iPET) and Laser-Induced Crystallization (LIC) modification. Through systematic optimization of structural design, material selection, and fabrication processes, the team has unlocked multiple simultaneous improvements in optical performance, interface passivation quality, and charge transport efficiency.
From the top down, you can see refinement throughout all parts of the pod. The HIBC cell structure uses a high resistivity half-cut M10 wafer as its substrate, and has been constructed using passivated tunneling contacts, dielectric passivation layers, n-type contact, and p-type contact. The ITO (indium tin oxide) layer is intended to improve lateral charge transport of the cell while using multilayer AlOx and SiNx coatings to minimise surface recombination. Strategic reduction of P-doping in the n-type polycrystalline silicon layer has been implemented by the researchers to reduce parasitic dopant diffusion. Although much subtlety exist with this fine tuning change, it is considered one of the more critical tuning steps for preserving the cell's overall performance.
"These breakthroughs in technological capability have already translated into a leading edge in mass production," the company said in a statement.
From Laboratory to Production Line
Perhaps the most compelling dimension of LONGi's announcement is that the HIBC technology is no longer confined to the laboratory. In April 2026, TaiyangNews, a globally authoritative photovoltaic media outlet, released its ranking of commercialized mass-produced module efficiencies. LONGi's EcoLife series modules - powered by the same HIBC technology - secured the top spot with a mass-production efficiency of 25%.
The achievement marks the official completion of a complete closed loop spanning from laboratory research and development to large-scale commercial deployment for HIBC cells. This transition from record-setting science to real-world application is a critical inflection point for the solar industry, where laboratory breakthroughs too often fail to reach customers.
LONGi's EcoLife modules are positioned as offering what the company calls "high efficiency, high energy yield, aesthetic versatility, and certified safety and reliability" - a four-pillar value proposition designed to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of global energy buyers.
An Industry in the Midst of Transformation
LONGi's record arrives against the backdrop of extraordinary momentum in the photovoltaic sector - and intense competition among China's leading solar manufacturers. Just one day before LONGi's announcement, on April 27, Trina Solar revealed that its self-developed THBC (hybrid passivated back-contact) cell had achieved a certified efficiency of 28.00%, marking the first time a 210R large-area crystalline silicon cell had broken the 28% threshold. In its statement, Trina Solar noted that it has now set or broken photovoltaic world records 39 times in total.
In just 24 hours, back-to-back announcements changing the world record for solar cell conversion efficiency from 28.00% to 28.13% highlight the fast pace of innovations in China's solar sector. Each increment of a decimal point in conversion efficiency means a decrease in the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) for solar cells and enables solar power to compete even more effectively with both fossil fuel- and other renewable energy sources. An article from the China Daily indicates that the advancement of technology by leading Chinese photovoltaic (PV) companies such as LONGi is one of the key elements in lowering LCOE for solar power and further enhancing the competitiveness of solar energy as an alternative energy souce on a global scale.
A Broader Ambition: The Green Power Ecosystem
LONGi's world-record announcement is not an isolated scientific achievement but rather part of a broader strategic transformation. Earlier in April 2026, the company unveiled its "LONGi ONE" integrated solar-plus-storage platform strategy, which combines advanced BC solar technology with the company's proprietary 5S storage system to deliver unified, high-performance "Solar Generator" solutions for customers across utility-scale, commercial, and industrial applications.
Having been deeply engaged in the clean energy field for many years, LONGi has established a comprehensive "Green Power + Green Hydrogen + Energy Storage" full-chain clean energy solution, consistently driving technological iteration through independent innovation to deliver high-quality products for all application scenarios to global customers.
Moving forward, the company said it will continue to focus on technological innovation, accelerating the translation of laboratory efficiency breakthroughs into large-scale manufacturing, and serving the global energy transition with more competitive clean energy products to help build a zero-carbon and sustainable green energy ecosystem.
Global Implications
LONGi's record efficiency of 28.13% sends a clear message to the entire solar industry that single-junction silicon efficiencies are now over 28% as they leave the lab and enter production. Given that the EcoLife series has already achieved mass production efficiencies of 25%, the historical divide between world record cells and commercially available modules is closing faster than many in the industry expected.
As the world works toward net zero emissions and builds out terawatts of new solar capacity over the next ten years, each small increase in efficiency helps to reduce both land requirements and balance of system costs while also increasing the total potential market for solar. LONGi's efficiency record will go beyond being just a new line in an industry database; it will be a building block for our future powered by renewables.
