Meyer Burger Commented on Hanwha Q CELLS’s patent infringement case, citing different technology platforms

Meyer Burger, a global leading photovoltaics technology company, commented that its cell coating platform uses proprietary PECVD technology and therefore is not in the scope of the patent infringement compliant by Hanwha Q CELLS against Jinko Solar, REC and LONGi

Hanwha Q CELLS filed notices in USA and Australia, alleging Jinko Solar and LONGi of patent infringement. The compliant claimed that the Defendants “have unlawfully incorporated this patently passivation technology … into their solar cells” Jinko Solar, REC and LONGi Solar have separately refuted the allegations by Hanwha Q Cells.

The comment by Meyer Burger’s CTO Dr. Gunter Erfurt was made to PVTech during the recent PV CellTech Conference in Penang, Malaysia which was published on 12th March 2019: “Recently solar module manufacturer, Hanwha Q Cells, submitted a patent infringement claim against several Asian solar module producers for the use of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) passivation technology. Meyer Burger’s MAiA® and FABiA® cell coating platforms use the company’s proprietary Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) passivation technology, which is the leading alternative technology to ALD and thus not in the scope of the patent infringement claim by Hanwha Q Cells. ”

Jinko Solar stated that the complaints are without technical or legal merit and categorically refutes Hanwha’s allegations. LONGi said, from a technical perspective, the current technology used in LONGi’s products is not the same as the technology contained in the disputed patents: the disputed patents are about ALD technology while LONGi uses PECVD technology.

LONGi and Meyer Burger are long standing technology partners. LONGi presently deploys Meyer Burger’s MAiA equipment with PECVD passivation technology in the manufacturing of all its high efficiency monocrystalline PERC solar cells.