US solar manufacturer First Solar has launched a lawsuit against leading Chinese manufacturer JinkoSolar for alleged infringement of a tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) cell patent.
First Solar opened investigations into a number of major Chinese manufacturers, including JinkoSolar, in November 2024, to determine whether the companies had infringed on a TOPCon patent it had acquired in 2013. The lawsuit follows a flurry of other disputes over TOPCon technology, including leading companies such as JinkoSolar and LONGi in Australia and Trina Solar and Canadian Solar in China.
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First Solar predominantly produces cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology modules, an entirely different technology than TOPCon. However, CEO Mark Widmar said last year that the company is ramping up its investments in TOPCon to help “develop the next generation of PV technologies”.
“Given the responses we received from other solar cell manufacturers in connection with our infringement investigations, we believe we have a strong TOPCon technology patent portfolio,” added First Solar executive vice president, general counsel and secretary Jason Dymbort.
“We expect that our lawsuit against JinkoSolar will reiterate the need for TOPCon solar cell manufacturers to operate within the well-defined framework of intellectual property law.”
PV Tech Premium looked into the rise in solar patent disputes last year, which we heard is being driven by a “competitive” pricing environment and the recent maturity of TOPCon technology, particularly among the dominant Chinese manufacturers.
“We are aware of the claims made by First Solar, and we are confident that when we present the facts in court it will be clear that their case has no merit,” a JinkoSolar spokesperson told PV Tech on 27 February. “JinkoSolar is proud of its market-leading IP portfolio, which includes 462 patents related to n-type TOPCon technologies, and the company will vigorously defend itself against baseless claims.”
First Solar and Talon PV sign TOPCon licensing agreement
On the same day, First Solar announced that it had signed a TOPCon licensing agreement with US cell manufacturer Talon PV. The manufacturer is currently building a 4GW cell manufacturing plant in the US, which it expects to commission in the first quarter of 2026. Talon PV CEO Adam Tesanovich said that the agreement will keep the company “on track to produce American-made TOPCon cells next year”.
Last week, Talon PV announced a cell supply deal for US module manufacturer SEG Solar, that would see the company provide TOPCon cells for SEG Solar’s panels from the first quarter of 2026. Talon PV did not specify whether the cells made under the First Solar patent would be the ones supplied to SEG Solar.
Efforts are ongoing to establish a reliable domestic solar supply chain in the US. Since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the country’s PV manufacturing capacity has increased nearly fourfold, and the recent escalation of tariffs on Chinese solar products has drawn more attention to the development of a robust manufacturing sector within US borders.
In a conference call to discuss First Solar’s 2024 financial results, Widmar said that he was optimistic that initiatives such as the 45X Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit would “ensure that value created by domestic manufacturing is retained in the US and not remitted to China”.
First Solar’s CdTe technology largely removes it from the Chinese-dominated silicon supply chain which supplies most of the world’s solar modules. The company has also been a significant force in pushing for greater US tariffs on silicon modules and cells entering the country, via the ongoing antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigation, which would supply US silicon module producers.
Strong sales and manufacturing performances
First Solar also announced its 2024 financial results. The company sold a record 14.1GW of modules over the year, generating net sales of US$4.2 billion—a record figure, but a shade under the company’s forecast of US$4.25 billion.
It produced a record 15.5GW of modules over 2024, split between 9.6GW of Series 6 and 5.9GW of Series 7 modules. Following the commissioning of a 3.5GW CdTe module manufacturing facility in Alabama in September 2024, First Solar’s total annual nameplate module manufacturing capacity currently stands at 21GW.
“In 2024, we continued building the foundations required for our long-term growth strategy,” said Widmar. “Even as we maintained a highly selective approach to bookings, we expanded manufacturing capacity by commissioning our Alabama facility and progressed construction of our new Louisiana facility, established the infrastructure we anticipate will accelerate innovation with a new research and development centre in Ohio, and produced and shipped a historic volume of modules.”
However, Widmar noted that the Alabama facility incurred “higher-than-anticipated ramp-related charges” related to material usage and spare parts consumption, which added US$4 million in costs; although this remains a much smaller figure than the US$1.1 billion First Solar invested in the facility in the first place.
Looking ahead, First Solar expects 2025 to be another record-setting year, targeting net sales as high as US$5.8 billion and total module sales as high as 20GW. However, Widmar noted that the company’s “mid- to late-stage bookings opportunities” had fallen by 2.5GW from 2023 to 2024, perhaps a reflection of the considerable oversupply issue facing a number of key markets, including North America and Europe.
Earnings call transcript by the Motley Fool.
