Silfab Solar buys BC technology patent portfolio from Germany’s EnPV

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Paolo Maccario, Silfab president and CEO, said the SABC technology was “specifically designed for the US market.” Image: Silfab Solar.

US PV module manufacturer Silfab Solar has acquired a patent portfolio for back-contact (BC) solar cells from solar research firm EnPV.

The technology patent portfolio is for self-aligned back contact (SABC) solar cell technology, which Silfab said “enables precise alignment and improved electrical performance in cell and module fabrication.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

EnPV – a subsidiary of German energy company EnBW (Energie Baden-Württemberg) – says the technology is designed to “upgrade” mass-market tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon). The company claims its SABC production process is lower cost than TOPCon processes, easily upgraded from a TOPCon production line and more efficient and “elegant” than existing back-contact production processes.

Paolo Maccario, Silfab president and CEO, said the SABC technology was “specifically designed for the US market.”

He continued: “Acquiring these cutting -edge technology patents and intellectual property will enable us to develop the next generation of solar panels for the Silfab Elite Series and beyond, ensuring we continue to offer our customers high-quality, powerful solar modules manufactured in the US while preserving and protecting strategically important European and American innovation.”

Silfab is currently establishing a TOPCon solar cell manufacturing facility in South Carolina. The company has secured multiple rounds of funding for the project, which has been delayed due to local opposition.

TOPCon technology has become the dominant strand of PV cell technology in the last two years, adopted by the majority of the major global solar manufacturers to replace passivated emitter rear contact (PERC) technology.

Some technological experts and certain companies are betting on BC technology being the successor to TOPCon. In late 2023, professor Martin Green, the man credited with a major part in the invention of PERC technology, predicted that interdigitated back contact (IBC) technology would “win” the race against other technologies.

More recently, Radovan Kopecek, director of ISC Konstanz in Germany, has backed BC as the superlative crystalline silicon cell technology.  Speaking to PV Tech at Intersolar Europe in Munich earlier this month, Kopecek said he expected the technology to begin replacing TOPCon in the next two-to-three years on a large scale.

Industrially, China’s LONGi Green Energy and Aiko Solar have bet the most on BC technology. LONGi recently announced that it had deployed 10GW of BC technology modules in Europe and the company launched a 25% conversion efficiency heterojunction back contact (HBC) module at Intersolar Europe.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again 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 in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth 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 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

October 6, 2025
Indian infrastructure company focused on rooftop and ground-based solar power installations, PVV Infra has secured solar power orders worth INR7.9 billion (US$90 million) through two of its subsidiaries. 
October 6, 2025
US utility AES Corporation is reportedly in discussions to be acquired by Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a subsidiary of global asset owning giant BlackRock.
October 6, 2025
Indian solar developer ACME Group has established a new subsidiary to manage its renewable equipment manufacturing business, under which it is planning to scale production of TOPCon PV modules.
October 6, 2025
Rajasthan government will develop 500MW/2,000MWh of standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a four-hour single-cycle configuration and extended operational life.
October 3, 2025
Renewables developer Madison Energy Infrastructure has bought the US distributed generation assets of NextEra Energy Resources.
October 3, 2025
EDF Renewables and Enlight Renewable Energy have advanced solar-plus-storage projects in New Mexico and Arizona.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland