Qcells parent Hanwha and Trina Solar settle dispute with patent licensing agreement

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Under this agreement all outstanding cases between Hanwha and Trina Solar have been dropped. Image: Trina Solar

Solar manufacturer Trina Solar and Qcells parent Hanwha Solutions have reached a patent licensing and transfer agreement with each other over their respective intellectual property and settled their patent dispute, they said in a joint statement.

Trina and Qcells’ parent company Hanwha Solutions are dropping all pending lawsuits and the parties agree to the use of each other’s solar patents. Each company will continue to operate and support their products in various markets.

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

A court in Germany had found Trina to be infringing on Qcells’ patented technology in December, which the company originally denied and said it would ‘aggressively defend’ its position against. The patent was for passivation technology developed by Qcells, which it said improves efficiency and performance of silicon-based solar cells.

The case claimed that Trina was unlawfully importing and selling solar modules in Germany that utilise Qcells’ technology.

In 2020, a German court had found three other PV manufacturers – JinkoSolar, LONGi and REC Group – to be infringing on patented Hanwha Solutions technology. 2021 also saw Qcells file a patent infringement against Astronergy in Germany, with a separate one filed in France. These were also for passivation technologies used in passivated emitter rear contact cells.

11 March 2025
Frankfurt, Germany
The conference will gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing out to 2030 and beyond.
17 June 2025
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 17-18 June 2025, will be our fourth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2026 and beyond.

Read Next

February 13, 2025
Australia’s Clean Energy Council said 2024 was the best year for renewable energy investment since 2018, with AU$9 billion committed.
February 12, 2025
Trina Solar has filed a lawsuit against Canadian Solar, seeking US$144.7 million for the alleged infringement of two patents.
Premium
February 11, 2025
PV Tech Premium spoke with Alexia Ruvoletto, former head of the Solar Stewardship Initiative, about its supply traceability standard.
February 11, 2025
Auction prices awarded ranged from €0.0388/kWh to €0.0495/kWh, with an average volume-weighted price awarded at €0.0476/kWh.
February 11, 2025
The US solar industry was previously sanguine about Trump's initial tariffs, though the impacts of these metal tariffs are unclear.
February 11, 2025
New manufacturing capacity additions from Gautam Solar and Waaree, alongside Indian solar deployments crossing the 100GW threshold.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
February 17, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
February 19, 2025
Tokyo, Japan
Solar Media Events
March 11, 2025
Frankfurt, Germany