Will 1.6mm PV Glass Become the Mainstream in the Future?

Driven by the industry-wide pursuit of lightweight design and cost reduction, 1.6mm ultra-thin photovoltaic glass has sparked heated discussions recently.

Many believe thinner glass will fully replace thicker options in the long run. However, judged by manufacturing feasibility, mechanical performance and real project application scenarios, 1.6mm glass can hardly become a universal mainstream across the whole sector. Instead, 1.6mm and 2.0mm specifications will coexist for a long time.

The mass adoption of 1.6mm ultra-thin glass was initially initiated and promoted by leading Chinese module manufacturers. Compared with conventional 2.0mm double-glass, it features lighter weight and slightly higher light transmittance, cutting logistics expenditure and rooftop load burden. It works perfectly for retrofitted rooftop solar, commercial & industrial distributed projects, as well as BIPV building integrated photovoltaic systems.

Nevertheless, it has inherent physical and process limitations that cannot be overcome: Limited by thickness constraints, textured 1.6mm PV glass can only be produced as heat-strengthened (semi-tempered) glass, and full tempering is technically unachievable. It is much inferior to fully tempered glass in mechanical strength, wind pressure resistance, hail impact resistance and anti-deformation capacity. When deployed on large-format modules, utility-scale ground power plants or sites with harsh weather conditions, it carries higher risks of cell microcracks and glass breakage, resulting in compromised long-term reliability.

Besides, 1.6mm glass demands high-end dedicated equipment (mostly air-cushion tempering furnaces) and ultra-precise temperature control. Its mass production yield is lower than mature 2.0mm glass, leading to unfavorable comprehensive manufacturing costs, so it cannot widely replace the well-established 2.0mm glass solution.

To sum up, the PV industry will not witness a total phase-out of thick glass by ultra-thin versions. Products will be selected based on segmented application requirements. While lightweight upgrading is an irreversible trend, the safer, more reliable and highly versatile 2.0mm glass will remain the long-term core standard for global solar power stations.