Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MAXN), a global leader in solar innovation and channels, today announced that its subsidiary Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd. filed patent infringement lawsuits against Shanghai Aiko Solar Energy Co., Ltd., its subsidiaries Aiko Energy Germany GmbH and Solarlab Aiko Europe GmbH, and its wholesaler Memodo GmbH in Mannheim District Court, Germany.

The lawsuit against Aiko and Memodo alleges infringement of Maxeon's European Patent No. EP2297788B1 ("Back-contacted solar cells with doped polysilicon regions separated via trench structures and fabrication process therefor"). This 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 Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) solar cells.

Back contact solar cells, such as Maxeon IBC solar cells, are distinct from conventional front contact solar cells, which have metal contacts on the front surface. Front surface metal contacts block sunlight and reduce efficiency. Back contact solar cells allow for the front surface of the solar cell to be completely exposed to sunlight without any shading from metal contacts, thereby maximizing efficiency and energy yield. Maxeon sells solar panels that utilize Maxeon IBC solar cells in its industry-leading Maxeon line of solar panels.

"Maxeon is an industry leader in Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC) solar cell technology, with the company having pioneered the development of this cell structure more than 20 years ago. Since the first IBC solar cells were made commercially available in 2004, a lot of progress has been made and we recently announced a world-record module aperture efficiency measurement of 24.7% for the company's next generation IBC panels. The intellectual property behind the IBC technology is the outcome of significant investments and technical advancements and the resultant Maxeon line produces the industry's most efficient panels," said Bill Mulligan, Maxeon's CEO. "The lawsuit against Aiko and Memodo is necessary to protect our intellectual property, significant R&D and other investments, as well as our reputation and deep heritage and culture of innovation."

The innovations behind Maxeon IBC, Shingled Hypercell, and TOPCon technologies are protected by a patent portfolio of over 1,600 granted patents and over 360 pending patent applications across our global markets, including the United States of America, China, Australia, Japan, Korea, Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

"We believe that Aiko uses Maxeon's technology," said Maxeon Chief Legal & Sustainability Officer Lindsey Wiedmann. "Maxeon expects Aiko and Memodo to respect Maxeon's patent rights and immediately stop unauthorized use of Maxeon's patented technology. Technology innovation depends on a patent system that rewards and protects the investments necessary to create such innovation. As a global, industry-leading solar company, 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 will rigorously defend our intellectual property rights when they are being violated. Earlier this year we took action against Tongwei with respect to our Shingled Hypercell technology, and we plan to continue to vigorously defend our intellectual property around IBC, Shingled Hypercell, and TOPCon technologies."