Longi and JinkoSolar Make Peace. Are the Photovoltaic Industry Leaders Starting to Stick Together?

01

At around 17:00 on September 19th, two major photovoltaic industry leaders, LONGi Green Energy and JinkoSolar, successively issued statements announcing that they had reached a settlement agreement regarding the ongoing patent claims and legal matters between them and their affiliated companies worldwide. This event, known in the industry as the "reconciliation of the century," put an end to the nearly year-long global patent war and reflected the survival wisdom of the photovoltaic industry during its in-depth adjustment period.

According to the settlement agreement, both parties agreed to end all ongoing legal proceedings related to patent disputes worldwide and reached relevant commercial arrangements for the cross-licensing of some of their core patents.

In addition, the two companies also stated that in the future, they would continue to increase investment in new technology research and development, accelerate the commercialization of advanced technologies and innovation in their application, and explore deeper cooperation.

Looking back to December 2024, JinkoSolar initiated patent infringement lawsuits against LONGi Green Energy in multiple locations in China, with the core issues targeting the TOPCon battery technology and component manufacturing fields. In response, LONGi Green Energy launched a counterattack in early 2025, filing a counterclaim against JinkoSolar in the United States for infringing TOPCon patents and suing it in China for alleged infringement of solar cell module patents.

Within just half a year, the litigation spread to key markets such as Japan, Australia, and Europe. There were at least 13 publicly available cases, covering the two major mainstream routes of N-type batteries. At that time, the market generally believed that this confrontation would be the "ultimate trial" of the technological route competition in the photovoltaic industry. (For details, please refer to the previous article of Foresee Energy, "From price war to patent war: The 'war' in the photovoltaic industry escalates.")

Behind the escalating conflict was the deep intertwining of the two giants in the technological landscape. As the leader in BC technology, LONGi Green Energy holds 480 patents for BC battery components, and the conversion efficiency of its mass-produced HPBC 2.0 technology components reaches 24.8%. JinkoSolar excels in TOPCon technology, with the highest conversion efficiency of its components exceeding 25.58% and having more than 5,500 cumulative patent applications.

However, the seemingly opposing technological camps actually have elements of each other. LONGi has some TOPCon production capacity, and JinkoSolar also disclosed the progress of its BC technology research and development in its semi-annual report for 2025, with the efficiency of its N-type BC batteries reaching 27.2%. This cross-layout of technologies has led the patent litigation into a deadlock of "mutual restraint." Wang Ping, a lawyer from Shanghai Long'an Law Firm, once pointed out that photovoltaic patents involve multiple disciplines, with long appraisal periods and high costs. Continuing the litigation would be a waste of resources for both parties.

In addition, the last straw that broke the "protracted war" was likely the performance pressure during the industry's downturn. In the first half of 2025, JinkoSolar's revenue decreased by 32.63% year-on-year, with a net loss of 2.909 billion yuan. LONGi Green Energy's revenue dropped by 14.83%, with a net loss of 2.569 billion yuan.

On the other hand, both JinkoSolar and LONGi Green Energy have had relatively high R & D investments in recent years. In 2023, their R & D investments reached 6.899 billion yuan and 7.721 billion yuan respectively, totaling 14.62 billion yuan. Against the background of supply-demand imbalance and intense price competition, if the two companies continue to consume resources in litigation and conduct R & D while considering the impact of each other's lawsuits, it will undoubtedly weaken their ability to transform R & D technology.

However, as Qi Haishen, CEO of Yingkou Jinchen Machinery, said: "Rather than competing for existing patents, it's better to focus on future technological breakthroughs." The clause of "cross-licensing of core patents" in the settlement agreement is the implementation of this consensus. Through patent sharing, both parties can avoid the risk of infringement and redirect resources to the research and development of next-generation technologies.

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It is worth noting that the reconciliation between LONGi and JinkoSolar is not an isolated event but a landmark signal of the photovoltaic industry's shift from "involution and internal consumption" to "collaboration and win-win." Among the top ten global component manufacturers in terms of shipment volume, seven have been involved in patent disputes. The claim amount in the lawsuit filed by Trina Solar against Canadian Solar exceeded 1 billion yuan. The demonstration effect of the reconciliation between the two giants is driving the industry to restructure its competition logic, and "huddling together for warmth" has changed from an option to a necessity for survival.

The "technology alliance" established through cross-licensing of patents has become the core fulcrum for the collaboration of industry leaders. According to the settlement agreement, both parties ended all global litigation procedures and reached commercial licensing arrangements for the core TOPCon and BC patents. This means that the two major domestic technological camps have "broken through the wall": JinkoSolar's TOPCon patent pool is open to LONGi, and LONGi's BC technology achievements can be used by JinkoSolar.

Some professionals pointed out that this technological complementarity will enhance the global competitiveness of the two giants and curb the long-standing problem of the slow elimination of low-tech production capacity in the industry.

In fact, during the rapid spread of TOPCon technology in 2023, due to the lack of patent constraints, a large amount of low-efficiency production capacity flooded into the market, exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance in the industry. Now, with industry leaders taking the lead in establishing intellectual property rules, it is a positive response to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's requirement to "combat infringement and standardize industry order."

The deep-seated motivation for huddling together is the strategic need to cope with the uncertainties in the global market. Chinese photovoltaic enterprises have long been in a passive position in overseas patent litigation. However, now, industry leaders such as LONGi and JinkoSolar have accumulated tens of thousands of patents and have the right to formulate rules.

However, the trade barriers in overseas markets are still intensifying. After the implementation of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the cost of technical standard certification has increased. The United States' anti-circumvention investigation of photovoltaic products from Southeast Asia continues. Against this background, if the leading enterprises continue to fight internally, it will only give overseas competitors an opportunity.

An industry insider said, "Malicious competition will only lead to a lose-lose situation, while collaborative cooperation can take the initiative in the global energy transition." Currently, there are already reports that LONGi and JinkoSolar are exploring deeper cooperation in areas such as overseas power station project development and supply chain collaboration. This dual cooperation in "technology + market" will form stronger risk resistance.

More significantly, the reconciliation is driving the industry's competition logic to shift from a "price war" to a "value war." In the past decade, the photovoltaic industry has relied on capacity expansion to reduce costs, but this has also led to serious homogenization.

Data from the first half of 2025 showed that the overall R & D investment ratio in the industry was less than 3%, far lower than that of the semiconductor industry. The settlement agreement between LONGi and JinkoSolar clearly states that they will "increase investment in new technology research and development and accelerate commercial application." If their R & D investments form a synergistic effect, it is expected to accelerate the industrialization process of cutting-edge technologies such as HJT and perovskite.

In addition, this transformation is already showing signs. After the release of the reconciliation announcement, the stock prices of companies with high R & D investment ratios in the photovoltaic sector rose against the trend, indicating that the capital market has recognized the new logic of "technology-driven" development.

From being at odds to joining hands, the change of LONGi and JinkoSolar has set a new benchmark for the photovoltaic industry. When more leading enterprises put an end to internal consumption and focus on innovation, China's photovoltaic industry will truly transform from a "capacity powerhouse" to a "technology powerhouse" and contribute more solid strength to the global energy transition.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Foresee Energy," and the author is Ke Yangming. It is published by 36Kr with permission.