(Yicai Global) June 16 -- Two Chinese solar power giants are locked in a court battle in Germany, with Tongwei Solar accused of patent infringement by the invested listed subsidiary of TCL Zhonghuan Renewable Energy Technology. 

TCL Zhonghuan is the world’s second-largest supplier of solar silicon wafers and Tongwei Solar is the globe’s biggest provider of solar silicon materials. Both rank in the global top 10 for solar panel shipments. 

Singapore-based Maxeon Solar Technologies began the patent infringement proceedings in a court in Dusseldorf, claiming that Tongwei Solar’s plant in Hefei, Anhui province, had infringed on its European patent for module-producing technology. The firm’s German unit Tongwei Solar GmbH is the defendant, according to a statement released by TCL Zhonghuan late yesterday. 

TCL Zhonghuan’s Jiangsu factory is currently the only solar panel maker in China that has obtained legal authorization to use the technology, the company said.

Tongwei Solar has been asked to cease the infringement, but it did not specify whether compensation is also being demanded, TCL Zhonghuan added.

A source at Tongwei Solar said there is no evidence that the company infringed on Maxeon’s patent and the firm has hired lawyers in Germany to respond to the case, according to a report today by China’s National Business Daily. 

Maxeon Solar Technologies is listed on the Nasdaq in the United States. As well as TCL Zhonghuan, another major shareholder is TotalEnergies, the French multinational energy and petroleum company. 

Editor: Tom Litting