Trina Solar has taken legal action against Runergy for unauthorized use of Trina’s TOPCon solar cell technology patents.
“Legal action will protect the integrity of Trina’s TOPCon technology,” said Steven Zhu, president of Trina Solar US. “At Trina, we embrace the power to protect our innovations and actively prosecute those who compromise our intellectual property.”
Trina Solar says it holds more than 2,000 patents, including a significant number of key TOPCon technology patents. Trina has filed a patent infringement complaint against Runergy USA/Runergy Alabama in the U.S. District Court of Delaware. Runergy is said to have used Trin’a’s proprietary TOPCon manufacturing process in China and Thailand for panels under the Hyperion brand, and plans to use the technology in panels manufactured at the new Alabama facility.
“We are proud of our patent portfolio and welcome discussions with U.S. partners who follow the proper process for using the patented technology,” said Zhu. “Our technological advancements and intellectual property, in addition to Trina’s compliant supply chain, are the key to success for solar manufacturing in the U.S. Trina’s 5-GW facility in Texas will come online this year.”
The patents in question are Nos. 9,722,104 and 10,230,009; both titled “Solar Cell and Method of Manufacturing the Same.”
Maxeon is also protecting its intellectual property related to TOPCon manufacturing and recently filed patent infringement claims against Canadian Solar, REC and Qcells.
