US Solar Panel Maker Warns Global Solar Makers Of Patent Infringement

First Solar, a US solar panel maker, has sent letters to Longi, Trina Solar, JinkoSolar, JA Solar and Canadian Solar, saying it believes the companies have infringed its patents.

First Solar acquired the TOPCon patent portfolio in 2013 through its acquisition of TetraSun. The company's TOPCon patent portfolio includes patents and patent applications in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates, with patent terms extending to 2030.

The design consists of an ultra-thin film tunnel oxide layer and a phosphorus-doped polysilicon layer. Chinese photovoltaic companies have achieved the industrialization of TOPCon technology, and key difficulties such as equipment matching, materials, processes, stability, and reliability have been overcome one by one by Chinese photovoltaic companies.

TOPCon is a new generation of photovoltaic technology, forming two major competitive camps with BC technology.

From the current market share, TOPCon has an absolute advantage. Relevant data from China, a photovoltaic powerhouse, show that the market share of N-type TOPCon batteries will increase rapidly from 23% in 2023 to 60% in 2024, and will be close to 50% by 2030. Judging from the production capacity plans currently released by Chinese companies, TOPCon batteries are also a key technology for expansion.

Currently, well-known Chinese photovoltaic giants promoting TOPCon include: Trina Solar, JinkoSolar, JA Solar, Tongwei Co., Ltd., Yida New Energy, etc. The other two Chinese photovoltaic giants, Longi Green Energy and Aixun Co., Ltd., are betting on BC technology.

The industry generally believes that TOPCon technology will remain mainstream in the next five years.

Although BC technology currently has a small market share due to cost issues, it is gaining momentum. According to LONGi Green Energy's plan, by the end of 2025, the combined capacity of BC generation I and II will reach 70GW per month; by the end of 2026, all products of domestic factories in China, except for a few overseas factories, will be migrated to BC technology.