OPIS: China's TOPCon Solar Cell Prices Rise Due To Tightened Downstream Regulations

    Recently, OPIS of Dow Jones pointed out in its latest global solar market report that the offshore price of TOPCon M10 cells in China rose by 1.04% this week to $0.0387 per watt, with the quoted range being from $0.0362 to $0.0401 per watt. Since the low point in early July, the price of TOPCon cells has increased by 24.4%.

    Industry insiders say that the price of battery cells is following the trend of module prices. Market expectations suggest that the potential price floor and stricter production regulations will influence the price movement.

    It is understood that industry associations and government departments plan to introduce legally binding minimum component prices in the fourth quarter of 2025. The expected price is 0.759 yuan per watt (equivalent to 0.098 US dollars per watt, including VAT refund, FOB). As a result of this measure, some people predict that component prices will gradually strengthen before November, thereby driving short-term increases in the price of battery cells.

    The source added that currently, regulatory enforcement is mainly focused on the upstream环节， while the battery cells and modules are still in a state of relatively weak regulation， resulting in a slow adjustment speed of prices in the downstream sector.

    Apart from price control, the Chinese Photovoltaic Industry Association has also strengthened the enforcement of production quotas. A market insider disclosed that a major manufacturer of 210R solar cell panels was summoned by the authorities for excessive production and was required to reduce output.

    Another insider familiar with the situation said that the industry association had already issued annual production quotas to manufacturers last year and strictly broken them down into quarterly targets. However, this enterprise failed to comply with the quota for the third quarter of 2025, and thus attracted the attention of the regulatory authorities.

    The background for the strengthened supervision is that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation recently jointly released the "2025-2026 Year Action Plan for Stabilizing Growth in the Electronic Information Manufacturing Industry", proposing to maintain an average annual revenue growth of more than 5%, promoting high-quality development of industries such as photovoltaics, component manufacturing, and lithium batteries, and curbing low-price competition and disorderly expansion of production capacity.

    Nevertheless, the spot demand for Chinese battery cells remains sluggish. The earlier purchasing boom triggered by market rumors has gradually subsided. In August, there was a surge in purchases due to rumors that China might reduce or cancel the 9% export tax rebate, but this trend has now come to an end.

    Industry insiders pointed out that the purchasing activities in the export market have returned to "normal" levels last week, as more recent rumors suggest that the policy adjustment might be postponed.

     Meanwhile, battery panel manufacturers are experiencing severe profit squeeze. The China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association stated that although the demand for battery panels overseas remains stable, silicon wafer producers are constantly demanding price hikes due to the persistently high cost of polysilicon.

    In the component market, multiple industry insiders have pointed out that the higher-than-expected inventory levels are one of the main factors suppressing the price momentum in the downstream sector, causing the solar cells to be caught between rising costs and stagnant component prices. (This article is compiled from pv-magazine. Please indicate the source when reprinting.)

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