Maxeon sues REC Solar over US TOPCon cell patent infringement

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Maxeon’s patent infringement lawsuit against REC Solar, follows one filed against Canadian Solar last month. Image: Maxeon Solar Technologies

Solar manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies has initiated a patent infringement lawsuit in the US against module manufacturer REC Solar Holdings.

Filed in the Eastern District of Texas, US, Maxeon alleges an infringement on patents related to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology.

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 lawsuit follows an investigation launched by Maxeon last November against several companies regarding US TOPCon patent infringement, although the company had not disclosed any specifics regarding the patents or the names of the companies it was investigating.

“Intellectual property infringement sits alongside injurious dumping and subsidy-driven excess global production capacity as an unfair trade practice that distorts markets and tilts what should be a level playing field for global solar manufacturing,” said Marc Robinson, Maxeon’s associate general counsel. “Maxeon strongly supports fair competition and will continue to vigorously enforce the company’s patent rights in the US and its other markets.”

PV Tech has reached out to REC Solar for a comment on the Maxeon lawsuit.

Second patent infringement lawsuit filed in the US

This is Maxeon’s second patent infringement lawsuit filed in the US in less than a month, after the company sued solar manufacturer Canadian Solar late in March.

“In November we initiated a TOPCon patent infringement investigation in the US, and this lawsuit is a result of that investigation,” a company spokesperson told PV Tech regarding the Canadian Solar lawsuit.

“Canadian Solar generates significant sales of TOPCon products in the US which we believe infringe on our IP, and a successful result against them would set a precedent for future IP infringement actions against other TOPCon suppliers who are selling, or considering selling, TOPCon panels in the US.”

Outside the US, the company has filed two lawsuits against Chinese solar manufacturers Aiko and Tongwei, both in Germany.

Last November, the lawsuit against Aiko alleged infringement of Maxeon’s European patent for solar cell architectures. Maxeon said its patent relates to proprietary and fundamental solar cell architectures for rear or back contact solar cells, also known as all-back contact (ABC) solar cells or IBC solar cells.

Whereas the patent infringement lawsuit against Tongwei concerns Maxeon’s shingled solar cell panel technology – European patent no. EP3522045 B1 – which it claims Tongwei has infringed on in the German market.

“Last year, we filed lawsuits against Tongwei with respect to our Shingled Hypercell technology and against Aiko with respect to our IBC technology, further examples of Maxeon rigorously defending our IP in all our markets,” a company spokesperson told PV Tech.

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

June 27, 2025
Indian solar manufacturer Premier Energies has commissioned its 1.2GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing line at Fab City, Hyderabad, Telangana.
June 26, 2025
A round-up of news from the US solar sector this week, including Akuo, Meta and RWE.
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.
June 26, 2025
Adapture Renewables and Meta have signed two EAPAs that will see the latter acquire power from a 360MW Texas solar portfolio.
June 25, 2025
First Solar has sold US$311.8 million in tax credits to “a leading financial institution” under the rules set out in the IRA.
June 25, 2025
Spanish energy utility giant Iberdrola has appointed the former CEO of its US renewable energy development subsidiary, Avangrid, as its new head.

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