Trina Solar has recently filed a patent infringement lawsuit with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), accusing Chinese photovoltaic manufacturer Runergy and Indian Adani Green Energy’s subsidiary of importing and selling TOPCon solar products. Trina Solar is urging the commission to investigate the patents related to the solar cells and manufacturing processes used in these products.
Notably, Runergy’s 2GW solar module factory in the U.S. has just announced its production start and is set to deliver its first batch of customer orders by the end of October.
Adani Group is the largest renewable energy company in India and the second-largest solar photovoltaic project developer globally.
By targeting these two major companies with the TOPCon patent lawsuit, Trina Solar has intensified the patent battle in the U.S. photovoltaic market.
In addition to Trina Solar, TCL Zhonghuan’s overseas subsidiary, Maxeon, has also initiated multiple rounds of TOPCon patent litigation in the U.S. This year alone, Maxeon has launched three TOPCon patent lawsuits against companies including Canadian Solar, REC, and Hanwha Q CELLS.
With Trina Solar joining the U.S. photovoltaic patent battle, it indicates that the “American Dream” for leading enterprises is just beginning, and the competition is already heating up.
Patent disputes are typically long and drawn-out, making it difficult to predict the final outcome in the U.S. market. However, as the saying goes, when titans clash, it is often the bystanders who suffer; it is likely that U.S. solar manufacturers will bear the brunt of these conflicts in the face of the efficiency and cost advantages of Chinese firms.
Currently, the U.S. is becoming the fastest-growing market for overseas photovoltaic capacity, with several Chinese solar factories set to commence operations in the second half of this year. According to foreign media reports, by 2025, Chinese companies will possess at least 20GW of annual solar module capacity in the U.S., sufficient to serve approximately half of the U.S. market.
