Maxeon: Dutch court rejects ABC cell patent lawsuit against Aiko Solar

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Aiko’s ABC technology (exhibited above) was not judged to infringe on Maxeon’s patents. Image: Aiko Solar.

Singapore-headquartered solar manufacturer Maxeon has failed in its preliminary injuction against manufacturer Aiko Solar over alleged solar technology patent infringement.

A judge in the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands denied Maxeon’s preliminary injunction over an alleged patent infringement case over solar cell architectures last week, in a result that Aiko called “a significant victory…showcasing the unique design of our cutting-edge ABC products.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The dispute was over specific back-contact (BC) solar cell architectures, known as all back-contact (ABC) or interdigitated back-contact (IBC).

In a declaration following the ruling, Maxeon said: “Maxeon firmly stands behind the strength, validity, and enforceability of its patent portfolio and in the infringement claims filed against Eironn Netherlands B.V. (Aiko Energy). We look forward to confirming this through an appeal of today’s decision and during the full course of these proceedings in the Dutch court, in addition to our ongoing patent infringement lawsuit against Aiko in Germany.”

Maxeon originally filed the patent infringement lawsuit in November 2023 against Aiko, its subsidiaries and the wholesale company Memodo in Germany. Aiko and Memodo signed a 1.3GW module supply agreement for the former’s n-type ABC modules in June 2023.

At the time of filing the lawsuit, Maxeon CEO Bill Mulligan said the suit was “necessary to protect our intellectual property, significant R&D and other investments, as well as our reputation and deep heritage and culture of innovation.”

In its statement following the denial at The Hague, Aiko Solar said: “The Dutch court held that it is not plausible that Aiko’s products would infringe Maxeon’s patent, therefore rejecting the requested preliminary injunction. This ruling by the Dutch court strongly supports Aiko’s continuous commitment to innovation in ABC technology.”

This is not the only patent infringement lawsuit Maxeon has launched in the last seven months. Shortly after filing the Aiko suit, the company announced plans to investigate “several” companies in the US over tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology patents. At the time, Maxeon claimed that it had a portfolio of over 1,600 patents for TOPCon products.

It has since transpired that three of the companies in question were Chinese solar manufacturing giant Canadian Solar, module manufacturer REC Solar Holdings and Korean-owned producer Qcells.  These three lawsuits were all filed between March and April 2024.

Earlier this week, the Nasdaq stock exchange issued Maxeon with a notice of non-compliance after the company failed to submit its financial statements for the full year 2023. At the same time, Maxeon announced that it would be delaying its Q4 2023 and Q1 2024 reports. The company has until the 16th July to submit a plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq.

Read Next

Premium
June 9, 2025
N-type polysilicon prices have dropped to RMB34,000/ton as the project installation rush ends, putting cost pressure on the industrial chain.
June 9, 2025
Saatvik Solar, a unit of Saatvik Green Energy Limited (SGEL), is building a 4.8GW solar cell and 4GW module manufacturing facility in Ganjam district of Odisha.
June 9, 2025
Growing political headwinds threaten to dent US solar manufacturing and project deployment, despite a strong start to 2025.
June 5, 2025
Solar manufacturer Involt Energy has broken ground on its first solar cell manufacturing plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat, with an initial annual nameplate capacity of 1.78GW. 
June 5, 2025
Indian solar module manufacturer Vikram Solar has received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to proceed with its initial public offering (IPO) and raise capital through the public markets.
June 4, 2025
Tariffs on US imports will increase the cost of US solar PV and energy storage technologies and slow the rate of project development, according to analysis from Wood Mackenzie.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece