Singapore-based solar manufacturer Maxeon is again suing Chinese module manufacturer Aiko for alleged violations of its patented Maxeon technology. A look at the case and the controversial technology.
What is Maxeon’s Back Contact Patent Beef with Aiko?
Maxeon Solar Technologies says it has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Aiko Solar in the Munich I Regional Court in Germany; We accuse Aiko and its European distributors of infringing Maxeon’s core patent EP2297789B1 for back contact (BC) solar technology.
This isn’t the first (or even second) time the company has attacked Aiko. Previous lawsuits related to the same BC solar technology family included a 2023 lawsuit before the Mannheim Regional Court for alleged infringement of patent EP2297788 and a 2024 lawsuit before the local division of the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in Düsseldorf for alleged infringement of patent EP3065184.
“As with our previous lawsuits against Aiko, we continue to target distributors as defendants,” Maxeon said. “This lawsuit should serve as a reminder that the risk of patent infringement is not limited to manufacturers. Both manufacturers and distributors of infringing products bear the risk of patent infringement.”
Although Maxeon only announced this yesterday, Aiko posted an initial response:
“AIKO hereby certifies that its ABC products are fundamentally different from the technical solutions covered by Maxeon Solar’s patent EP2297789 and that they do not infringe this patent.”
What is a back contact solar cell?
With Back Contact (BC) solar cells, all metal electrical contacts are located on the back of the cell, eliminating shading on the front and allowing maximum absorption of sunlight. This results in higher energy conversion efficiency of the module and offers some advantages in shadow tolerance.
Since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it could also be said that using BC improves the aesthetics of a solar panel installation as it is all black.
Maxeon (via SunPower) pioneered interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells, which were first commercially available in 2004. You can read more about Maxeon’s IBC technology and its history here.
Maxeon Interdigitated Back Contact solar cells
AIKO, a relative newcomer to the solar production scene that has garnered a lot of attention, calls its BC technology ABC – All Back Contact.
The company says that N-type ABC was selected as the main development focus for mass production in 2016 and its ABC cells were launched in 2021. Aiko continually refines his ABC approach. In November last year, Aiko announced a collaboration with the Australian Center for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) to develop BC cells with a conversion efficiency of more than 30%.
While TOPCon (Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact) currently remains the dominant cell technology, back contact is gaining market share.
More about Maxeon
Maxeon has its roots in SunPower, a PV manufacturer founded in the 1980s. SunPower’s solar PV manufacturing division was spun off from its US installation business back in 2020 and a new company was formed – Maxeon Solar Technologies.
Until March 2025, SunPower operated under Maxeon Solar Technologies, headquartered in Singapore. It’s a complicated story, and Maxeon has generally been dealing with some challenging conditions for some time. Among other things, US Customs and Border Protection has banned its panels from US imports since July 2024.
Maxeon’s total shipments were just 153.2 MW in the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared to 1,014 MW in the six months ended June 30, 2024.
Learn more about Maxeon/SunPower solar panels here.
More about Aiko
Aiko Solar is a Chinese manufacturer founded in 2009. Aiko was founded in Australia in March 2024 and has an office in Melbourne. Although they have only been available here for a short time, Aiko modules took first place in the 2025 SolarQuotes Installers’ Choice Awards for Best Solar Panels in 2025.
Learn more about Aiko solar panels.
While Maxeon has positioned itself on the premium side of the market, Aiko focuses more on the budget end of the spectrum.
You can compare the specs and estimated prices of select Maxeon/SunPower and Aiko panels – along with a range of other brands – side by side on SolarQuotes’ solar panel comparison chart.
Other BC Tech players
In addition to Maxeon and Aiko, Longi, Jinko, Winaico, TW (Tongwei) and JA Solar are other large manufacturers that are intensively working on variants of back contact technology. It is unclear whether any of these companies are also in Maxeon’s crosshairs.
Patent wars are a regular part of solar panel manufacturing, and some manufacturers certainly have a lot of patents to protect. For example, the fighters in this particular battle:
- Maxeon: Over 2,000 patents granted.
- Aiko: 3,500 patent applications, of which 1,900 are related to ABC technology, of which 750 are ABC-related patents granted.
Aside from deterring intellectual property infringement, solar patent wars would help keep a small army of lawyers off the streets and bars.
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