Photovoltaics Report

Key Takeaways

• The global PV market is growing at a very rapid pace (CAGR of approximately 27%), dominated by crystalline silicon and n-type TOPCon, with strong expansion in China and new applications such as Agrivoltaics and Floating PV. The market dynamics are shifting from subsidy programs toward competitive PPAs.
• Germany accounts for around 4% of global installed PV capacity; PV already covers just under 17% of net electricity generation, and renewable energies as a whole account for about 62%. Self-consumption with battery storage, heat pumps, electric vehicles, and balcony PV is increasingly shaping the business model, which requires flexible grid integration.
• Efficiency levels are rising continuously: Laboratory cells achieve up to 27.9% (mono-Si) and 26.9% (perovskite), while concentrator cells reach as high as 47.6%. Commercial silicon modules have improved in efficiency from about 17% to just under 25% over the past ten years. Perovskite-on-silicon tandem cells promise up to 35% efficiency in the laboratory.
• The amount of silicon used per watt has been significantly reduced, shortening the energy payback time to approximately 1 year, depending on the location. Over their lifespan of about 20 years, PV systems thus generate many times the energy used in their manufacture, while better recycling methods continue to be developed.
• Thanks to massive economies of scale, PV and wind power plants are now the most cost-effective electricity generation technologies - even when combined with battery storage systems, enabling them to provide round-the-clock power. PV module prices fall by an average of about 26.7% for every doubling of cumulative production, and the typical LCOE for large PV plants globally is around 4 ct€/kWh.

How to cite

Please cite the information presented in the report as follows:
©Fraunhofer ISE: Photovoltaics Report, updated: 14 July 2026, https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/ise/de/documents/publications/studies/Photovoltaics-Report.pdf