Maxeon, a solar manufacturer based in Singapore, has been unsuccessful in its legal action against fellow manufacturer Aiko Solar for purported patent infringement related to solar technology.
Last week, a judge in the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands dismissed Maxeon’s claim of alleged patent infringement concerning solar cell architectures, a decision that Aiko hailed as “a major triumph… highlighting the distinctive design of our innovative ABC products.”
The disagreement centered around particular back-contact (BC) solar cell designs, specifically referred to as all back-contact (ABC) or interdigitated back-contact (IBC) architectures.
In November 2023, Maxeon initiated a patent infringement lawsuit against Aiko, its subsidiaries, and the wholesale company Memodo in Germany. Earlier in June 2023, Aiko and Memodo had entered into a 1.3GW solar module supply contract for Aiko’s n-type ABC modules.
When the lawsuit was filed, Maxeon CEO Bill Mulligan emphasized the importance of the legal action, stating that it was crucial “to safeguard our intellectual property, substantial research and development efforts, along with our reputation, rich heritage, and culture of innovation.”
In response to the ruling at The Hague, Aiko Solar stated: “The Dutch court found it implausible that Aiko’s products would violate Maxeon’s patent, thus dismissing the requested interim injunction. This decision from the Dutch court greatly reinforces Aiko’s ongoing dedication to innovation in ABC technology.”
Within the past seven months, Maxeon has initiated more than one patent infringement lawsuit. Following the Aiko case, the company revealed intentions to scrutinize “multiple” firms in the United States regarding tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology patents. Maxeon asserted at that point that it possessed a collection of over 1,600 patents related to TOPCon products.
Subsequently, it has been revealed that three of the companies under scrutiny were the Chinese solar manufacturing giant Canadian Solar, module manufacturer REC Solar Holdings, and the Korean-owned producer Qcells. These three legal actions were all initiated between March and April 2024.
Earlier this week, the Nasdaq stock exchange notified Maxeon of non-compliance due to the company’s failure to file its financial statements for the entire year of 2023. Concurrently, Maxeon disclosed a postponement of its Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 reports. Maxeon has until July 16th to present a strategy for reestablishing compliance with Nasdaq.
