Nov 12, 2026 · Malcolm Longair
At a glance
One PV-1 line at its 96,000 wafers-per-hour design throughput does the work of three to eight conventional cell lines. It produces about 697 million good cells and about 4.6 GW of T2X tandem cells a year. These figures count 96,000 G12 half-cut cells per hour, which is how the PV-1 throughput is specified. Section 4 shows what changes if the count is full wafers instead.
| Measure | PV-1 at 96,000 wph |
|---|---|
| Cells per second / per minute | 26.7 / 1,600 |
| Good cells per day (85% availability, 97.5% yield) | about 1.9 million |
| Good cells per year | about 697 million |
| Annual output, T2X tandem at 30% | about 4.6 GW |
| Annual output, HJT at 25.5% | about 3.9 GW |
| Equivalent 1.2 GW HJT lines | 3.3 |
| Equivalent 600 MW tandem lines | 7.7 |
| Equivalent 1 GW-class PECVD tools | 6.7–6.9 |
Throughput and output are design figures; measured results will replace them as the line runs.
How many lines PV-1 replaces
Against published 2025–2026 equipment, one PV-1 line equals three large HJT lines or seven to eight commercial tandem lines. Each comparison divides PV-1’s 96,000 half-cut cells per hour by the benchmark’s rated throughput, or PV-1’s 4.6 GW by the benchmark’s capacity.
| Benchmark | Rated throughput or capacity | PV-1 equals |
|---|---|---|
| Maxwell 1.2 GW HJT line | 28,800 G12 cells/h | 3.3 lines |
| Maxwell commercial perovskite/HJT tandem line | 600 MW/yr | 7.7 lines |
| Singulus GENERIS inline PECVD | 14,000+ G12 half-cut/h, about 1 GW/yr | 6.9 tools |
| High-throughput HJT PECVD (TaiyangNews survey) | 14,400 G12 half-cut/h | 6.7 tools |
| NAED’s previous XL platform | 48,000 wph | 2 platforms |
The line count matters beyond output. Replacing three to eight lines with one means one set of loaders, one automation and controls stack, one maintenance crew and one footprint to permit, which is where the capex and opex savings come from. For that to hold, every tool in the line, from wet bench through PVD, printing and test, has to be matched to 96,000 per hour, because the slowest tool sets the line rate.
What that output looks like
A year of PV-1 output is enough cells for about 7.7 million 600-watt panels.
| Unit | Annual figure | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Full G12 wafers consumed | about 348 million | 697 million half-cut cells ÷ 2 |
| Silicon wafer mass | about 3,900 tonnes | 210 × 210 mm, 110 µm, 2.33 g/cm³ |
| 600 W panel equivalents | about 7.7 million | 4.6 GW ÷ 600 W |
| U.S. homes powered by one year’s output | about 650,000 | 4.6 GW × 17% capacity factor ÷ 10,500 kWh per home per year |
The homes figure counts one year of production. Each further year adds the same again, since panels keep generating for 25–30 years. The capacity factor and household use are typical U.S. values, not site data.
Assumptions and sensitivity
The biggest swing is whether 96,000 counts half-cut cells or full G12 wafers: full wafers double every output figure. Before quoting any number externally, confirm which one the PV-1 spec means.
- Cell size: G12 half-cut, 105 × 210 mm (220.5 cm²); full G12 is 210 × 210 mm.
- Power per half-cut cell: 6.61 W at 30% (T2X tandem target), 5.62 W at 25.5% (HJT), at 1,000 W/m².
- Availability: 85% of 8,760 hours, or 7,446 running hours a year.
- Yield: 97.5%, matching Maxwell’s published line yield.
| Case | 80% availability | 85% availability | 90% availability | Nameplate (100%, no yield loss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half-cut, T2X 30% | 4.3 GW | 4.6 GW | 4.9 GW | 5.6 GW |
| Half-cut, HJT 25.5% | 3.7 GW | 3.9 GW | 4.2 GW | 4.7 GW |
| Full G12, T2X 30% | 8.7 GW | 9.2 GW | 9.8 GW | 11.1 GW |
| Full G12, HJT 25.5% | 7.4 GW | 7.8 GW | 8.3 GW | 9.5 GW |
If the count is full wafers, PV-1 equals about 6.7 Maxwell 1.2 GW lines and about 15 commercial tandem lines.
Sources
- Maxwell Advances Tandem And HJT Manufacturing Solutions, TaiyangNews, 2026: 1.2 GW HJT line at 28,800 G12 cells/h and 97.5% yield; 600 MW commercial tandem line.
- Singulus Technologies: Gigawatt-Scale HJT Production Tools, TaiyangNews: inline PECVD at 14,000+ G12 half-cut/h, about 1 GW/yr.
- The Supply Side Of PECVD Tools For HJT – Part 1, TaiyangNews: PECVD rated at 14,400 G12 half-cut/h.
- PV-1 design throughput (96,000 wph, G12 half-cut) and the 48,000 wph previous platform: NAED engineering.
Media Contact
Malcom Longair, M.S.E., M.Eng., P.E.
Nuclear & Aerospace Engineer (AAE), Lead Systems Architect – Advanced Energy & Propulsion
NAED Corp
Main: (775) 430-2652
