AIKO vs TCL Zhonghuan - solar panel manufacturer comparison
AIKO has the broader catalog (144 vs 66 models). AIKO leads on peak efficiency at 25.20%. TCL Zhonghuan leans bifacial (65% 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
- Founded
- 1981
- Headquarters
- Tianjin, China
- Listed
- SZSE: 002129
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
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%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>Back Contact</strong> (45%)
The flagships
Written summary
AIKO is a Chinese solar manufacturer founded in 2009 and headquartered in Zhuhai, Guangdong. The company built its reputation as a cell-technology specialist before expanding into finished modules, and it achieved BloombergNEF Tier 1 status - confirming the bankability required by project lenders. TCL Zhonghuan, also based in China, is a significantly larger enterprise: a wafer-and-module giant that reported 15.1 GW of module shipments in 2025, a figure that rose more than 80% year-on-year, and it targets wafer production capacity in the hundreds of gigawatts. TCL Zhonghuan also holds BloombergNEF Tier 1 status as of Q3 2025. On sheer industrial footprint and supply security, TCL Zhonghuan operates at a different scale than AIKO.
AIKO's defining product line is built around its proprietary ABC (All Back Contact) technology, which moves all electrical contacts to the rear of the cell to eliminate front-side shading losses. This positions AIKO firmly in the premium residential and commercial rooftop segment, where customers pay a premium for maximum watts per square metre and a sleek, grid-free aesthetic. The company's Gen 3 Infinite series pushed module efficiency to around 24.6% and, in 2025, AIKO became the first mass producer to adopt silver-free copper metallisation in back-contact cells. TCL Zhonghuan, by contrast, serves a much wider range of use cases: its T5 Pro modules span from 480 W residential formats up to 760 W utility-scale configurations, built on TOPCon and BC cell technology with efficiencies reaching 25.17%. Its scale and wafer-integration make it a natural fit for large ground-mount and commercial-and-industrial projects.
For a typical residential buyer seeking the highest power density on a constrained roof with a premium budget, AIKO's ABC panels are a compelling choice backed by credible bankability. For utility-scale developers, commercial EPCs, or buyers prioritizing supply-chain depth and pricing leverage, TCL Zhonghuan's greater production scale and broad wattage range make it the more practical default. The two brands are not interchangeable - they occupy meaningfully different positions in the market.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-13
Other brand comparisons
Shop prices: See 179 AIKO offers · See 25 TCL Zhonghuan offers
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.