Korea's Hanwha Q Cells halts litigation against Chinese module maker

Hanwha Q Cells Co., a solar power unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, has signed a contract to transfer technology licenses to Chinese solar module maker Trina Solar Co,, as well as suspend the two parties’ patent lawsuits.

Under the agreement, Hanwha Q Cells will take over Trina Solar’s patents. The Chinese company will be able to manufacture and sell products in which Hanwha Q Cells' patented technologies are used.

Last October, Hanwha Q Cells’ parent Hanwha Solutions Corp. filed a preliminary injunction application to a German court, claiming that Trina Solar had infringed on a patent of Hanwha’s in-house passivated emitter rear cell (PERC).

PERC is globally used in solar panels to boost power generation. A panel using PERC has a reflector on each cell to bounce back light for better efficiency of energy production. 

The court issued a preliminary injunction last December, ordering the Chinese solar module producer to stop selling certain products in Germany as they are regarded to have infringed on Hanwha’s patents.

Trina Solar fought back with a lawsuit against Hanwha Q Cells in China last month, insisting that the Korean firm’s affiliate in Qidong, Suzhou Province has exported and sold solar modules while infringing on its intellectual property.

The two companies agreed earlier this month to halt their legal dispute and cooperate in manufacturing solar power products.

Hanwha Q Cells has been in litigation against its global competitors, such as JinkoSolar GmbH, REC Solar GmbH and Longi Solar Technologie GmbH in Europe since 2019. 

The European Patent Office (EPO) found last September that the three German solar panel makers have unlawfully used Hanwha Q Cells’ patented technology for their products, the Korean firm said.

Write to Seo-Woo Jang at suwu@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.