Maxeon Accuses Hanwha, REC Solar of Copying Solar Cell Technology

Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd. sued two solar-panel manufacturers, alleging both ripped off groundbreaking solar-cell designs and manufacturing processes and are passing them off as their own innovations under other names.

Maxeon filed separate complaints accusing Hanwha Solutions Corp. and REC Solar Holdings AS of patent infringement in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on April 19. Both complaints allege infringement of three patents covering a high-performance solar-cell structure—known as a TOPCon cell—and its manufacturing process. Maxeon claims the revolutionary design boosts both efficiency and electricity output and was patented by inventor Richard Swanson, who founded Maxeon’s ...