SolarEdge hit with patent lawsuits by rival over solar-power tech

Alexis Ventura and Nelson Barrios carry out a solar panel installation. Picture taken November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Susana Vera

July 29 – Ampt LLC sued Israeli solar-energy company SolarEdge Technologies Inc in Delaware federal court and at a U.S. trade tribunal on Thursday for allegedly violating several of its patents related to solar power.

Fort Collins, Colorado-based Ampt argued in the lawsuits that SolarEdge’s systems infringe eight patents related to Ampt’s power optimizers for photovoltaic (PV) systems.

Ampt CEO Levent Gun said in a statement Thursday that SolarEdge had “sought to improve its own position in the PV market by unlawfully using our proprietary technology without asking our permission or compensating us.”

SolarEdge did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

The patents cover improved methods for converting sunlight into usable energy. Ampt said its technology enhances efficiency and reduces costs for solar-power systems.

The lawsuits said SolarEdge’s optimizers and other components infringe the patents.

The company asked the Delaware court for an unspecified amount of money damages and a court order banning sales of the infringing systems. It also requested an import ban on some SolarEdge products from the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The cases are Ampt LLC v. SolarEdge Technologies Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:22-cv-00997 and In the Matter of Certain Solar Power Optimizers, Inverters, and Components Thereof, U.S. International Trade Commission, No. 337-3630.

For Ampt: Scott Bornstein, Nick Brown, Vivian Kuo and Cyrus Frelinghuysen of Greenberg Traurig

For SolarEdge: not available

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.