Recently, Tigo Energy, a global leader in intelligent hardware and software solutions, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Zhejiang Benyi New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. through its Chinese subsidiary.
文 / NE-SALON新能荟小编团
Recently, the photovoltaic industry has once again ushered in a high-profile patent infringement storm. Tigo Energy, a global leader in intelligent hardware and software solutions, through its Chinese subsidiary, Tigo Energy Equipment Trading, has filed a lawsuit against Chinese PV company Zhejiang Benyi New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("Zhejiang Benyi"), alleging infringement of Tigo Energy's patent for rapid shutdown technology (Patent No. 200880114564.0).
It is reported that the lawsuit (Case No.: (2024) Hu 73 Zhi Min Chu No. 177) was filed with the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court on August 21, 2024. This incident not only aroused widespread attention inside and outside the industry, but also once again pushed the issue of intellectual property protection of photovoltaic technology to the forefront.
Patent details and significance
Since its inception in 2007, Tigo Energy has been committed to improving the safety, energy yield, and reducing operating costs of residential, commercial, and utility-scale solar systems. As a global leader in the development and manufacturing of intelligent hardware and software solutions, Tigo is a leader in rapid shutdown technology and module-level power electronics ("MLPE") with more than 150 granted or pending patents, combining its unique Flex MLPE (Module Level Power Electronics) technology with solar optimizer technology and solar optimizer technology to enable advanced energy monitoring and control with the power of intelligent cloud-based software.
Tigo's MLPE products have earned market recognition for their superior performance improvements, real-time energy monitoring, and compliant module-level rapid shutdown capabilities. These features not only improve the overall efficiency of the solar system, but also ensure the safety of operators, especially during installation and maintenance. In addition, Tigo has developed and manufactured a series of innovative products for the residential solar and energy storage markets, such as inverters and battery energy storage systems, further strengthening its leading position in the industry.
However, it is these technologies with core competitiveness that have become the focus of this patent infringement lawsuit. According to Tigo Energy's allegations, the infringed patent relates to a special switch installed in a solar module that is able to automatically trigger during installation, disconnecting the battery from the module, effectively preventing the release of high voltages and protecting installers from the risk of electric shock. Once installed, the switch can be switched back into place, allowing the battery to connect normally to the rest of the module and start generating electricity. Tigo Energy refers to this mechanism as "rapid shutdown" technology and emphasizes the growing importance of this technology in the current electrical safety regulatory framework in the United States.
In particular, in 2023, the National Fire Protection Association has United States updated the National Electrical Code, which recommends that installers and manufacturers follow the electrical safety standard UL3741, implemented in 2020. Although the new specification does not mandate the use of rapid shutdown technology, developers are encouraged to prioritize the use of rapid shutdown technology to optimize safety performance in the event of non-compliance with the UL3741 standard. This background makes Tigo Energy's rapid shutdown technology even more critical in the United States solar market.
Background and response of Zhejiang Benyi New Energy
Zhejiang Benyi New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., as a subsidiary of Zhejiang Benyi Electric Co., Ltd., is a manufacturer of photovoltaic electrical products integrating scientific research, production and sales. The company has independently developed and manufactured a series of high-tech products, including photovoltaic intelligent shutdown devices, intelligent microinverters, etc., and continues to carry out R&D and innovation in the fields of photovoltaic inverters and photovoltaic power transmission and distribution facilities.
Zhejiang Benyi has not yet publicly responded to the specific details of Tigo Energy's allegations, but it is foreseeable that this patent infringement lawsuit will have a certain impact on its business operations and market reputation. In the photovoltaic industry, technological innovation is the core of enterprise competitiveness, and the protection of intellectual property rights is the key to maintaining this competitiveness. Therefore, how Zhejiang Benyi responds to this lawsuit will have a direct impact on its future market position and development strategy.
Repercussions and influences within the industry
The patent infringement lawsuit not only sparked a direct dispute between Tigo Energy and Zhejiang Benyi, but also caused widespread discussion in the entire PV industry. On the one hand, there is a view that with the rapid growth of the global photovoltaic market, the protection of technological innovation has become particularly important, and the frequent occurrence of patent infringement lawsuits is the inevitable result of market maturity and intensified technological competition. On the other hand, there are also concerns that frequent patent litigation may lead to higher technical barriers in the industry, which is not conducive to the wide dissemination and application of technology, thereby affecting the overall development of the photovoltaic industry.
In addition, the incident once again highlighted the challenges of the PV industry in terms of safety performance. According to a report released earlier this year by the Clean Energy Association, 97% of rooftop PV systems audited in 14 countries around the world had significant safety issues, with 49% of those systems having grounding issues. If these problems are not effectively solved, they will seriously threaten the safe operation of photovoltaic systems and the safety of human lives.
Patent protection and security challenges in the PV industry
In recent years, patent infringement lawsuits have emerged in the PV industry, from multiple lawsuits filed by Maxeon in recent months to investor damage lawsuits it has received, reflecting the complexity and challenges of technological innovation and intellectual property protection in the industry. Maxeon CEO Bill Mulligan has bluntly stated that "copying someone else's technology is cheating", a view that undoubtedly speaks to the industry's general attitude towards technological innovation and intellectual property protection.
However, in addition to patent protection, the PV industry faces serious security challenges. With the increasing global demand for clean energy, the number and scale of photovoltaic system installations are growing rapidly, but the safety concerns that accompany them cannot be ignored. Grounding problems, voltage mutations, equipment failures, etc. can lead to serious safety accidents, therefore, strengthening the safety supervision and technological innovation of photovoltaic systems has become an urgent problem for the industry to solve.
epilogue
The patent infringement lawsuit between Tigo Energy and Zhejiang Benyi New Energy is not only a legal dispute, but also a profound reflection on the technological innovation, intellectual property protection and safety performance improvement of the photovoltaic industry. For the industry, strengthening technological innovation and intellectual property protection is the key to enhancing competitiveness; For enterprises, how to maintain the dual advantages of technological innovation and safety performance in the fierce market competition is the key to their sustainable development. In the future, the photovoltaic industry needs to pay more attention to the balance between technological innovation and intellectual property protection to promote the healthy and sustainable development of the industry. Source: NE-SALON ZJ