After considering a complaint by Trinasolar US, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to institute an investigation of Runergy and Adani for possible patent infringement.

Trinasolar, a China-based provider of solar panels, filed a complaint in September with the ITC, alleging that Runergy and Adani Green Energy improperly imported and sold projects that infringe on its patents for TOPCon solar cells.

Having considered Trina’s complaint, the U.S. government ordered an investigation of whether Runergy and Adani are in violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. In particular, the investigation will examine whether Runergy and Adani have infringed Trina’s tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) solar cell technology patents.

In the complaint, Trina Solar requested that the ITC issue a limited exclusion order and cease-and-desist orders against Runergy and Adani to bar the importation into the United States of certain solar cells, modules, panels, components thereof, and products containing the same that infringe Trina’s patents.

“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 this action at the ITC, Trinasolar has separate patent infringement suits relating to TOPCon technology pending against Runergy in the District of Delaware and the Central District of California.

In October Runergy asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel two of Trina Solar’s patents, claiming that are not patentable, as they are not the result of Trina Solar’s own work.

“The patents were only purchased by Trina Solar from others in February 2024,” Runergy said in a statement. “As early as 2013, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy had already published and described the making of TOPCon solar cells, following teachings published even earlier in the 1980s … The two Trina Solar acquired patents were not filed until more than a year after the Fraunhofer Institute 2013 publication. They thus could not be patentable for attempting to cover TOPCon solar cell with only obvious variations already known in the prior art.”

Trina Solar is headquartered in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. Trinasolar US is currently developing a 5 GW manufacturing base in Wilmer, Texas. Jiangsu Runergy New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. is headquartered in Yancheng City, China and founded Runergy USA in 2023, which is building a solar manufacturing plant in Alabama. Adani is headquartered in Mundran, India and is building a manufacturing facility in North Carolina.