The US-based solar cell maker First Solar has sued Chinese rival JA Solar and the US-based distributor American Panel Solutions, alleging they infringed its patent on making TOPCon solar cells.
In a statement on Thursday, First Solar said the case is the latest step in its campaign to enforce the patent against Chinese manufacturers.
First Solar said it filed the suit on October 1 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. It accused JA Solar and American Panel Solutions of infringing U.S. Patent 9,130,074. The patent covers methods of making tunnel Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) crystalline silicon photovoltaic solar cells.
Notably, First Solar made accusations against JA Solar and its Vietnamese unit JA Solar Vietnam Co., Ltd, while JA Solar is operating manufacturing bases in China, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
The case extends a push First Solar began in 2024, after it said it owned a TOPCon patent portfolio acquired through its 2013 purchase of TetraSun and opened infringement investigations into several crystalline-silicon makers.
It has since sued China’s JinkoSolar and others and filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission naming about 10 companies, including JA Solar.
The patent First Solar is asserting faces challenges. In May, China’s patent office invalidated the ‘074 patent, striking down all its claims in a case brought by JinkoSolar. The patent is also under reexamination in the United States, with JinkoSolar and Canadian Solar seeking to have it declared invalid.
The dispute reflects tension between First Solar, the largest U.S.-based solar manufacturer, which uses thin-film technology, and Chinese companies that dominate production of crystalline-silicon panels.
In its most recent quarter, First Solar’s net income rose 23 percent from a year earlier to $423 million, even as net sales slipped 4 percent to about $1.06 billion. The company passed 100 GW of cumulative module sales and held a contracted order backlog of about 45 GW running through 2030.
First Solar reaffirmed its 2026 forecast of $4.9 billion to $5.2 billion in net sales and 17-18 GW of modules sold. Its profits lean heavily on U.S. manufacturing tax credits, projected at more than $2.1 billion this year.
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