Photovoltaic giants Jingke and Longji were accused of infringement by Korean companies
On March 5, local time, Hanwha Q CELLS Co. Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Hanwha New Energy) announced that its US subsidiary and German subsidiary have separately submitted to the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and the United States. The Lahua District Court and the District Court of Düsseldorf, Germany, filed a lawsuit alleging that Jingke Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jinko Energy, NYSE: JKS) and Longji Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Longji shares, 601012.SH) and the European Rec Group have patent infringement.
According to Hanwha New Energy's statement, the three companies illegally used their patented passivation technology in their respective battery products, infringing their German patents "EP 2 220 689" and US Patent No. 9893215. This technology plays an important role in improving the efficiency and performance of solar cells.
If Hanwha New Energy succeeds in three lawsuits in ITC, US courts and the German District Court, the products of the above three companies will be banned from exporting to the United States; products of Jinko Energy and REC Group will be banned from exporting to Germany.
Hanwha New Energy’s prosecution is directed at the PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell) batteries produced by the three companies. With the surge in demand for high-efficiency components in the market, PERC battery is one of the hottest high-efficiency battery technologies in the photovoltaic industry in recent years. In 2018, it has ushered in tremendous expansion and improvement of production capacity.
The back passivation technology is the core technology of the battery.
PERC batteries are collectively referred to as passivated emitters and backside cells, which increase conversion efficiency by adding a dielectric passivation layer on the backside of the cell to reflect red light that partially passes through the cell but does not generate energy. The technology was first introduced in 1983 and has continuously updated its efficiency records in recent years.
A PV company product manager who did not want to be named told the interface news that the back passivation technology has been proposed for 30 years. As early as the global mass production, the current production capacity of PERC battery is around 70-80GW. "If Hanwha New Energy sues in an ordinary passivation manner, it will not stand." The source said.
Jingke Energy and Longji have successively updated the highest conversion efficiency of PERC batteries. In March, the conversion efficiency of single crystal PERC batteries issued by Longji Leye Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Longji, reached 23.6%.
There are various implementation methods for the backside passivation technology of the battery. At present, the use of alumina to make the back passivation film is the mainstream method.
The preparation of the back passivation film is the core process step of the PERC battery. The technical means of industrial deposition of the film are mainly atomic layer deposition (ALD) represented by Solaytec, Hanwha New Energy, etc., and represented by MeyerBurger, Switzerland. Plate (PECVD) deposition method.
At present, both Jingke Energy and Longji have used PECVD to make alumina passivation films. A certain line of PV enterprise executives told the interface news that PECVD belongs to ALD in accordance with Hanwha New Energy's prosecution logic.
"But actually in the market, ALD and PECVD are completely separate concepts." The above-mentioned executives said that from this point of view, Hanwha New Energy's prosecution is suspected of "scratching the ball" and it is difficult to stand up.
According to "PV magzine" report, the prosecution Han Huaxin Energy believes that the indicted company used its patent passivation technology for at least the past year. The company's first priority is to thoroughly analyze the technology used by competitors and evaluate whether the patent covers the patent.
In 2012, Hanwha New Energy began using its patented passivation technology to produce its “Q.ANTUM†batteries and produced more than 2.5 billion such batteries worldwide.
As a subsidiary of Hanwha Group, one of Korea's top ten consortia, Hanwha New Energy was once the world's largest manufacturer of solar cells. The company was formed in February 2015 by the merger of Hanwha Solar One and Hanwha QCELLS, which was once Europe's largest provider of photovoltaic product solutions. As of the second half of 2017, Hanwha New Energy has 8GW of battery capacity and 8GW of component capacity.
In addition to the technical patent motives, the marketing strategy behind Hanwha New Energy’s move is also worth considering.
In the face of a saturated domestic market, the European and American markets in recovery are undoubtedly very attractive to Hanwha New Energy.
The United States is a market that Hanwha New Energy values ​​very much. Last week, the company built a new 1.7 GW component plant in Dalton, Ga., to assemble its PV modules for sale in the United States. According to the company, this is the largest similar plant in the Western Hemisphere.
Jingke Energy and Longji are among the respondents in the world.
Jinko Energy has been the world's largest manufacturer of photovoltaic modules for three years; Longji is the world's largest manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon products. By the end of 2018, its total monocrystalline silicon wafer production capacity reached 28GW, ranking first in the world.
According to statistics from PVTech and Global Data, in the 2018 global PV module shipments, Jinko Energy ranked first, Longji shares ranked fourth, and Hanwha New Energy ranked sixth.
Most of the world's first-line component manufacturers are Chinese companies, and Hanwha New Energy is one of the few foreign companies.
In 2018, due to the reduction of photovoltaic trade barriers and the sharp decline in manufacturing costs, overseas markets have strong demand for Chinese PV products. China's total exports of photovoltaic products reached US$16.11 billion, the highest level since the “double opposition†in 2013.
According to PV InfoLink statistics, the first-tier leading enterprises in the first half of 2019 are basically full of component orders, of which foreign orders account for more than 80%.
The United States is currently the second largest market for Jinko Energy. In the context of the “531†New Deal, Jinko Energy achieved a net profit of 292 million yuan in the first three quarters of 2018, an increase of about 1.5 times compared with the same period last year. This is mainly due to the fact that its overseas component shipments account for nearly 80% of the total, eliminating the impact of slowing domestic demand.
Previously, Longji shares said that the company's overseas component shipments are expected to reach 50%-60% in 2019.
In general, international patent litigation takes up to several years. The lawsuit will have a certain impact on the business of Jinko Energy and Longji in the European and American markets.
“European and American customers have doubts when they purchase the products of the respondent company. The respondent company cannot guarantee the outcome of the litigation, which means that the customer may have to bear joint and several liability and face the risk of Hanwha New Energy’s claim.†The above-mentioned executives said that regardless of the litigation result Winning and losing, Hanwha New Energy’s market strategy has won.
Hanwha New Energy is also seeking damages from the Delaware District Court and issuing a ban on the infringement of patented technology by the defendant.
As of press time, Jinke Energy and Longji have not responded to the inquiry of the interface news, nor have they issued a public statement on the matter.
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