AIKO vs Reliance New Energy - solar panel manufacturer comparison

Reliance New Energy is the solar manufacturing arm of Reliance Industries, headquartered in India, built around the Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex in Jamnagar. The company commissioned its first gigawatt-scale HJT module production line in 2025, with an initial annual capacity of 10 GW targeted to scale toward 20 GW as the fully integrated polysilicon-to-module chain comes online. It is a very new entrant to module manufacturing, backed by the financial and industrial weight of one of India's largest conglomerates, but it does not yet carry an established BloombergNEF Tier 1 track record given how recently production began. AIKO, formally Shanghai AIKO Solar Energy Co., Ltd, is a Chinese manufacturer founded in 2009 that has built a longer commercial history and has achieved BloombergNEF Tier 1 status, most recently reported with roughly 35.5 GW of production capacity across multiple Chinese bases including Tianjin. On institutional footprint, AIKO currently has the stronger, independently verified bankability record, while Reliance brings substantial capital backing but a much shorter operating history.

The two brands also target different product niches. AIKO has built its identity around ABC (All Back Contact) cell technology, which removes front-side metal contacts to boost efficiency and improve aesthetics, and the panels have performed well in PV Evolution Labs reliability testing and won installer awards in markets like Australia, positioning AIKO primarily for premium residential and commercial rooftops where efficiency and appearance matter. Reliance's early output centers on high-power bifacial HJT modules (with reported cell efficiencies above 26 percent and modules up to 720 W), technology licensed and indigenized from REC Singapore, aimed initially at utility-scale and large commercial deployment within India as part of the country's domestic manufacturing push.

For a typical buyer in 2025, AIKO is the safer default choice today given its confirmed Tier 1 bankability, multi-year track record, and independently tested reliability data, making it well suited to both residential and larger projects requiring financing. Reliance is one to watch given its scale ambitions and HJT technology, but its solar module business is still ramping up commercial history, so buyers relying on Tier 1 bankability lists or long-term field data should currently weight AIKO more heavily, especially outside India.

Generated by Claude Sonnet 5 · 2026-08-21