The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has initiated an investigation to determine whether Chinese company Runergy and India's Adani have violated Trina Solar's patents related to TOPCon solar cell technology, Trinasolar US announced on Tuesday. The investigation follows a complaint filed by Trina Solar and its US subsidiaries, alleging that the two companies infringed on Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930.
Trina Solar is seeking a limited exclusion order to block the importation of solar cells, modules, panels, and components that infringe its patents, along with cease and desist orders to prevent further sales and marketing of these products in the US.
“Trina is pleased with the ITC's decision to investigate the unauthorized use of our patented technology,” said Steven Zhu, president of Trinasolar US. “Trina's commitment to protecting our intellectual property remains firm and we look forward to an expeditious investigation by the ITC.”
In addition to the ITC investigation, Trinasolar has filed separate patent infringement lawsuits against Runergy in the District of Delaware and the Central District of California regarding its TOPCon technology.
Runergy, which began solar module production in the US in October 2024, has challenged the validity of Trina's patents. On October 8, the company filed petitions with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel the two patents involved, arguing that the patents cover technology that is already known in the prior art. Runergy has pointed to research from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy from as early as 2013 that describes TOPCon solar cell technology.
