Patent War Between Two Chinese Solar Giants Ends in Major Settlement
LONGi Green Energy and Jinko Solar Announce Cross-Licensing Agreement; Industry: Beneficial for R&D and Product Innovation
[Reporter Lin Chen-yi / Comprehensive Report]
The fierce patent battle between China’s two leading photovoltaic giants that broke out earlier this year has finally come to an end. LONGi Green Energy and Jinko Solar jointly issued a statement announcing that they had reached a settlement in their patent litigation, agreeing to terminate all ongoing legal proceedings worldwide and to cross-license certain core patents held by each side.
Although the statement did not specify the technologies involved, based on the patents previously disputed by the two parties and industry insiders’ assessments, it is highly likely that LONGi and Jinko settled on BC and TOPCon-related patents. This allows mutual licensing of technologies and, amid today’s intense market competition, the settlement is expected to promote corporate R&D and product innovation.
According to Jiemian News, the statement noted that the settlement and patent licensing reflect both parties’ goodwill in respecting intellectual property rights and pursuing win-win cooperation. It also sets a model for building long-term and sustainable IP partnerships within the industry. Both companies will continue to invest heavily in new technology R&D, accelerate the commercialization and innovative application of advanced technologies, and explore deeper collaboration in the future. The photovoltaic sector is currently shifting away from pure price competition toward a stage of high-quality development driven by technological innovation.
Frequent patent disputes between LONGi and Jinko began in the second half of last year and escalated sharply earlier this year, with both sides accusing each other of infringement and bringing lawsuits from China to Australia.
In recent years, with rapid technological advancement and rising emphasis on intellectual property rights within the industry, patent disputes in the photovoltaic sector have clearly increased.
However, most eventually end in settlement. Often, such disputes are not necessarily about seeking a final judgment but serve as a business strategy to limit competitors’ market competitiveness through intellectual property. This is particularly relevant in overseas markets, where clients may consider litigation risks when choosing business partners.
TOPCon and BC are both next-generation solar cell technologies that have become key areas of focus for photovoltaic companies in recent years.
Jinko Solar is the leader in TOPCon. Its financial report for the first half of this year shows that it has filed a cumulative total of 5,500 patent applications, with invention patents accounting for 75%. During the same period, its patent expenses reached RMB 14 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 50%. By the end of 2025, Jinko expects to achieve 40 to 50 GW of high-power TOPCon capacity.
In addition to TOPCon, Jinko also seeks to develop BC technology. Since last year, there have been frequent market reports that the company is entering BC product manufacturing. Jinko has stated that it will continue to strengthen its investment in BC R&D and has already built a BC R&D production line. In its mid-year report, Jinko revealed that its new BC cells had achieved a maximum conversion efficiency of 27.2%.
LONGi Green Energy had placed bets on BC technology development earlier. The company has already obtained more than 3,500 granted patents, including 480 related to BC modules. As of the end of June, LONGi’s self-owned HPBC 2.0 cell capacity reached 24 GW. The company also possesses certain TOPCon capacity.
[September 21, 2025 / Economic Daily News/ A8]
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