Tigo Energy has filed a lawsuit against China’s Zhejiang Benyi New Energy
It accuses the company of infringing on its rapid shutdown technology
The lawsuit has been filed in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court
US-based module level power electronics (MLPE) solutions provider Tigo Energy has alleged that China’s Zhejiang Benyi New Energy has infringed on its patented technology for rapid shutdown and filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court.
Tigo describes rapid shutdown as a safety function for PV systems on buildings, which are designed to reduce the risk of electrical shock to emergency responders. It is mandated by building codes and regulatory bodies in a number of countries around the world.
According to Tigo Energy Equipment Trading (Suzhou), the Chinese affiliate of the US company, Zhejiang Benyi’s rapid shutdown devices infringe on its intellectual property, specifically China Patent No. 200880114564.0.
Earlier in 2022, Tigo Energy had filed a similar patent infringement lawsuit against SMA Solar Technology America, the US affiliate of Germany’s SMA Solar, for rapid shutdown technology (see Patent Lawsuit Against SMA Solar Technology).
Tigo said that it actively licenses its patented technology to other solar equipment providers and that it has prevailed in multiple patent disputes.
In January 2024, Tigo announced the expansion of its rapid shutdown patent portfolio with the issuance of US Patent No. 11,855,578.
Speaking of patents, the Chinese solar PV industry has seen a rise in patent infringement cases of late, specifically for TOPCon technology. Most recently, JA Solar filed a lawsuit against Astronergy for the PV technology (see TOPCon Patent Ownership War Heating Up, Now Moving To China).