[Courtesy of Hanwha Q Cells.]
SEOUL -- Hanwha Q Cells, a major photovoltaic manufacturer in South Korea, has launched patent suits against Chinese rivals in Germany and France to protect its technology that improves efficiency by forming a passive layer on the back of solar cells to reflect the light back into cells.
In Germany, Hanwha Q Cells filed a lawsuit against China's solar panel manufacturer for patent infringement. The South Korean company has filed a series of patent infringement suits against foreign companies, especially from China. In June 2020, a German district court ruled in favor of Hanwha Q Cells.
"Through this lawsuit, we will remind the meaning of investment and efforts in research and development and induce sound research competition," said Hanwha Q Cells chief technology officer Jeong Ji-won. In March, Hanwha Q Cells filed a patent infringement suit in France against a Chinese company and its French distributor. Names and details were withheld for legal reasons.
In an effort to widen the technology gap with China, South Korean companies and researchers have tried to develop new solar energy technologies. In December 2020, a consortium of college research teams and private companies led by Hanwha Q Cells was selected for a state project to commercialize perovskite crystalline silicon solar cells by using next-generation tandem cell technology to overcome theoretical limits for single-cell efficiency.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
