Maxeon sues Tongwei over shingled cell tech in Germany

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The suit was brought to district court in Dusseldorf. Image: Maxeon Solar Technologies

Maxeon Solar Technologies has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Chinese PV manufacturer Tongwei Solar in Germany.

The suit concerns Maxeon’s shingled solar cell panel technology – European patent no.  EP3522045 B1 – which it claims Tongwei has infringed on in the German market. The case was filed to the district court in Dusseldorf this week by Maxeon’s subsidiary Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd.

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

Maxeon deploys the shingled cell technology in its Performance line modules, where cells are separated into smaller strips and overlapped across the module. The company claims that it results in higher power, higher efficiency, enhanced reliability and improved durability compared with standard cell layout.

The process was designed by the Silicon Valley startup Cogenra Solar which was acquired by Maxeon’s former corporate partner SunPower in 2015. Maxeon retained the intellectual property following its spinoff from SunPower.

“Respect of intellectual property rights is critical to incentivise and protect inventions, and we are proud of our 35+ year legacy of innovation that we vigorously defend from infringement,” commented Lindsey Wiedmann, Maxeon’s chief legal & sustainability officer. “We have taken this action against Tongwei Solar both to protect our intellectual property rights and to encourage an orderly and healthy growth of the solar industry, as well as to give the market confidence that research and development initiatives to develop future technologies are valuable investments that can safely continue.”

Bill Mulligan, Maxeon’s CEO added: “In September 2020, Maxeon filed a lawsuit against Canadian Solar in Japan, which was subsequently settled in April 2022. With this latest filing against Tongwei Solar, Maxeon is continuing to vigorously enforce its valuable intellectual property rights to prohibit unauthorised use.”

Tongwei has been producing shingled cell modules for over a year.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 30, 2025
Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has secured a 30MW solar module supply agreement to power Australia's first "net zero pipeline”.
June 27, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has commissioned its 1.2GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana.
June 27, 2025
Renewables investment platform Nexwell Power has signed a round of power purchase agreements (PPAs) with “one of the largest” US tech companies for solar PV capacity to be built in Spain.
June 26, 2025
International researchers led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have developed a new cooling technology that improves the power and longevity of solar cells.
June 26, 2025
A group of minority shareholders in Norwegian silicon firm REC Silicon has triggered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the company’s US polysilicon production site.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

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
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico