Maxeon Solar Technologies

This article is about the Singaporean solar company. For the former American parent that entered bankruptcy, see SunPower.

Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. is a Singapore-based company that designs and manufactures photovoltaic panels. The company was previously a division of the American company SunPower. Maxeon was spun off from SunPower in August 2020. Maxeon was the primary provider of solar panels for SunPower through March 2024.^[2] Beyond the United States, Maxeon has sales operations in more than 100 countries and has the rights to use the SunPower brand in countries outside the United States.

Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd.

Company type	Public
Traded as	Nasdaq: MAXN Russell 2000 component
Industry	Renewable energy
Predecessor	SunPower
Founded	August 2020; 4 years ago (2020-08)
Headquarters	Marina Bay Financial Centre, Singapore (registered headquarters) San Jose, California, U.S. (executive offices)
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Bill Mulligan (CEO) Donald Colvin (chair)
Revenue	US$1.06 billion (2022)
Operating income	US$−200 million (2022)
Net income	US$−267 million (2022)
Total assets	US$1.26 billion (2022)
Total equity	US$48 million (2022)
Owner	TCL (36.5%) TotalEnergies (24.4%)
Number of employees	5,344 (2022)
Website	maxeon.com
Footnotes / references Financials as of 1 January 2023[update]. References:[1]

History

When SunPower spun-off Maxeon in August 2020, the Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Company invested US$298 million for a 24% interest in Maxeon.^[3][4] Chinese technology company TCL later purchased Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor, becoming a major investor in Maxeon. SunPower investor TotalEnergies also kept a significant ownership stake in Maxeon.^[1]

In March 2024, Maxeon Solar filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Canadian Solar.^[5][6] The alleged infringement was linked to Maxeon's TOPCon solar cell technology.^[5][6][7]

TCL, a Chinese company, has the majority stake in Maxeon. The company's panels face detention from U.S. Customs & Border Protection citing the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA).^[8]

Products

Its products are known for being more expensive, but producing energy more efficiently than competing products.^{[3][9][10][a]} Maxeon panels are often used when there is a limited amount of space for the panels, such as on rooftops.^[3][b]

Ordinarily, the electrical contacts are on the front of a solar panel, facing the sun.^[11] The front of Maxeon's panels channel the light to electrical contacts on the back of the panel, reducing the amount of sunlight that is reflected rather than turned into energy. Hence, Maxeon panels are sought for efficiency and aesthetic reasons. ^[12]

Notes

1. "SunPower panels are known for being the most efficient in the industry, able to convert more of the energy in sunlight into electricity. That can give its panels an advantage for space-constrained installations like rooftops, though they can also be more expensive than rivals’ products." (source: Los Angeles Times)
   "SunPower has built a reputation as a maker of highly efficient solar panels and charges a premium price for them." (source: GreenTechMedia)
   "SunPower’s panels, though not the cheapest, are much in demand because they are most efficient at transforming sunlight into energy." (source: Reuters)
2. "That can give its panels an advantage for space-constrained installations like rooftops, though they can also be more expensive than rivals’ products."