AIKO vs Solarfam - solar panel manufacturer comparison
AIKO has the broader catalog (144 vs 0 models). AIKO leans bifacial (24% of lineup).
Both catalogues are read from the manufacturers' own datasheets. A brand is not scored against the market here, only against the other brand on this page.
The two companies
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- Shanghai, China
- Listed
- SZSE: 600732
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Solarfam is a Dutch solar energy brand operating under the parent company Solmax New Energy B.V. The company distributes and sells solar panels, inverters, batteries, controllers, and water pump systems, targeting both residential and agricultural markets. It positions itself as a sales and integration brand sourcing...
- Headquarters
- Nieuwegein, Netherlands
Catalogue against catalogue
An average over a catalogue describes the range a manufacturer publishes, not the module you would buy. A brand with two flagship panels and eighty older ones averages worse than one that has retired its back catalogue.
What each of them builds
AIKO skews to higher efficiency: 85% of lineup is 23%+
AIKO offers more 600W+ panels (60% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>Back Contact</strong> (83%)
The flagships
Written summary
Solarfam is a Netherlands-based brand operating under Solmax New Energy B.V., headquartered in Nieuwegein. It functions primarily as a wholesaler and distributor rather than a large-scale cell-and-module manufacturer, catering to DIY installers, caravan and marine users, and customers in areas without grid access. No Tier 1 or BloombergNEF bankability listing has been identified for Solarfam, and its annual production footprint is not publicly reported at the gigawatt scale. AIKO, by contrast, is a vertically integrated Chinese manufacturer headquartered in Yiwu, with roots tracing back to Shanghai Aiko Solar Energy Co., Ltd., founded in 1996. AIKO achieved BloombergNEF Tier 1 status in 2024 and, according to published capacity trackers, had roughly 20 GW of annual production capacity in early 2025 - a figure that reportedly expanded further through 2026. On institutional footprint, AIKO is unambiguously the larger, more bankable entity.
The two brands serve almost entirely different market segments. Solarfam's catalog is oriented toward compact, off-grid applications - micro-grid kits for boats and recreational vehicles, solar water pumps, and small residential backup systems - pairing its panels with its own inverters, batteries, and charge controllers. AIKO, on the other hand, targets on-grid residential rooftops and commercial arrays where efficiency and aesthetics matter. Its proprietary N-type ABC (All Back Contact) cell technology, developed in-house and commercialized from 2021, has set successive world records for mass-produced module efficiency and earned AIKO the top spot in the 2025 SolarQuotes Installers Choice Awards in Australia. AIKO backs its panels with a 15-year product warranty and a 30-year performance warranty.
For a buyer evaluating grid-tied residential or light commercial solar in 2025, AIKO is the clear default choice - it offers verified high efficiency, confirmed bankability, and a meaningful warranty commitment. Solarfam fills a different niche: portable, off-grid, and DIY systems where simplicity and bundled components outweigh the need for BloombergNEF-grade bankability. The two brands are not interchangeable; their target use cases barely overlap.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-09
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Comparisons are computed from manufacturer datasheets held in the ComparePV database and may not reflect a brand's complete current lineup. Nothing on this page is paid placement.