Maxeon Investigates ‘several companies’ for US TOPCon Cell Patent Infringements

Solar manufacturer Maxeon Solar Technologies has said that it is issuing a number of patent infringement investigations in the US pertaining to tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology.

In its press release, Maxeon did not disclose any details about the specific technologies or patents in question, of which it claims a portfolio of over 1600. It also did not mention any companies that are under investigation, instead citing “Several companies [which] have announced plans to import into the United States or manufacture in the United States solar panels that utilise TOPCon solar cells”.

According to Maxeon – which split from residential solar company SunPower in 2020 to take on its manufacturing business – it has “begun actively monitoring the United States market for the presence of potentially infringing products”.

PV Tech has contacted Maxeon for comment or clarification.

Lindsey Wiedmann, Maxeon’s chief legal & sustainability officer said: “We will rigorously defend our intellectual property rights should Maxeon determine its TOPCon patents have been infringed. Innovation depends on a patent system that rewards and protects the investments necessary to create such innovation. Maxeon strongly supports fair competition in the marketplace and appreciates the importance of intellectual property rights of all participants in the industry. This also means that we intend to formidably defend our intellectual property rights when they are violated.”

Maxeon has been litigious over technology patents before. Earlier this year it brought a case against Tongwei in Germany for infringement of its shingled solar cell technology patent, and two weeks ago the company took out another lawsuit against Aiko Solar over interdigitated back contact (IBC) cell technology, also in Germany.

Financially speaking, recent months have not been positive for Maxeon. Its Q3 earnings call saw revenue drop by around 35% quarter-on-quarter. Then, earlier this month the company announced plans to lay off 22% of its total workforce and phase out production of its IBC modules.

In July and August, the company announced two separate expansion plans in Mexico and the US. The former a US$70 million investment to bring its Mexicali module assembly facility to 1.8GW and the latter a US$1 billion plan for a 3GW TOPCon cell and module production facility in the US state of New Mexico.