A solar module built by layering perovskite glass over silicon cells is now rolling off a production line in Mountain Iron, Minnesota, with the companies behind it promising up to 20% more energy than a conventional N-type module. Heliene, a solar modules manufacturer, and Caelux Corporation, a perovskite solar technology company, say the module is already in commercial-scale production for the U.S. market, with an initial industrial-scale order underway and deliveries slated for 2027.
A Hybrid Built From Two Domestic Supply Chains
According to a joint press release detailed by GlobeNewswire, Heliene and Caelux have entered a multi-year, multi-gigawatt agreement to commercialize what they call the Hybrid-Tandem module. The design pairs Caelux perovskite glass with Heliene's silicon N-type cells, combining two energy-generating materials in a single panel rather than relying on silicon alone. The companies describe the arrangement as bringing together two fully domestic supply chains, with Heliene handling production at its Mountain Iron plant.
Heliene CEO and founder Martin Pochtaruk said the appeal of the Caelux glass is that it does not require retooling an entire factory. He said the company can integrate the energy-producing glass into its existing manufacturing lines without having to build an entirely new production setup, as reported by Solar Power World. Caelux CEO Scott Graybeal said Heliene is a leader in U.S. manufacturing and that the companies believe market leadership benefits customers, according to the same report.
Efficiency Claims Vary Slightly Between Reports
The companies say the module is designed to deliver higher power density in a smaller project footprint, a pitch IndexBox highlighted in its own rundown of the IndexBox coverage of the launch. The exact efficiency figure differs depending on the source: Solar Power World reported the companies were citing 27% efficiency, while the companies' own release described conversion efficiencies of up to 27% or more. GlobeNewswire's account of the release also says the module is capable of generating up to 20% more energy than a conventional N-type solar module, and the companies are targeting hybrid-tandem efficiencies exceeding 29% by 2028.
Heliene says its two U.S. solar-module facilities have a combined annual output capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, per the GlobeNewswire release. The company plans to showcase the new module at the RE+ trade show in Las Vegas from November 17 to 19, at booth W16546, where the hardware will get its first major public display since the production announcement.
Part Of A Broader Push Into Tandem Solar
The Heliene-Caelux launch lands amid a wider industry scramble to commercialize perovskite-silicon tandem technology, which stacks materials to capture more of the solar spectrum than a standard silicon panel. In California, Tandem PV has begun demonstration manufacturing of its own perovskite-silicon panels at a 65,000-square-foot Fremont facility, according to Solar Power World, whose production line can accommodate 40 megawatts of annual capacity; that company reported 29.7% efficiency for its demonstration panel based on internal testing and is targeting its first commercial panel sales this year, with high-volume manufacturing eyed for 2028.
Oxford PV, another player in the tandem space, plans to bring its own perovskite-silicon products to mass production in 2027, with CEO David Ward telling pv magazine the company expects 27% efficiency and a 20-year lifetime that same year. Oxford PV is also targeting a 1% annual increase in module efficiency through 2032, illustrating how closely the efficiency race among tandem developers is being tracked across the industry.
The Backdrop: A Manufacturing Base Still Building Capacity
The announcement arrives as the U.S. solar market continues to expand rapidly. The industry installed 11.4 gigawatts direct current of capacity in the second quarter of 2026, a 45% increase from the same quarter in 2025 and a 43% jump from the first quarter of 2026, according to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Domestic nameplate module manufacturing capacity stood at roughly 66 gigawatts direct current after only about 1 gigawatt of new module capacity came online during that same quarter, the trade group reported.
Even so, SEIA and Wood Mackenzie's outlook expects annual U.S. solar additions to remain essentially flat from 2026 through 2031, despite the solar fleet roughly doubling in size over that period. Against that backdrop, Heliene and Caelux are framing their partnership as commercializing ultra-high-efficiency modules meant to set a new bar for American-made solar, though the supplied evidence does not include independent testing or third-party certification of the module's reported efficiency or energy gains, nor details on pricing, warranty terms, or the specific volumes attached to the new multi-year agreement.
