AKCOME vs Solar Frontier - solar panel manufacturer comparison
AKCOME has the broader catalog (3 vs 0 models). AKCOME leans bifacial (100% 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
Solar Frontier is a leading CIS thin-film solar energy company specializing in the development and manufacturing of CIS (Copper-Indium-Selenium) thin-film solar modules. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, and is a fully owned subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu, now part of Idemitsu Kosan Group. Solar...
- Founded
- 2006
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Annual capacity
- 1 GW/year
- Employees
- 1,500
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
AKCOME offers more 600W+ panels (100% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>HJT</strong> (100%)
The flagships
Written summary
AKCOME is a Chinese manufacturer headquartered in Jiangsu Province, founded in 2003 as part of the Jiangsu Akcome Industrial Group. The company has appeared on BloombergNEF Tier 1 bankability lists, though reports from 2024 indicate it was delisted in at least one quarterly update, signaling some erosion in institutional confidence. Its confirmed module production capacity stands at approximately 3.8 GW per year. Solar Frontier is a Japanese company, established in 2006 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Showa Shell Sekiyu (subsequently absorbed into the Idemitsu group), and built its reputation over more than a decade as one of the world's leading producers of CIS copper-indium-selenium thin-film modules. However, Solar Frontier ceased all in-house thin-film manufacturing by mid-2022, shutting down its 900 MW Kunitomi plant in Miyazaki. The company has since pivoted to OEM-sourced monocrystalline panels and repositioned itself primarily as a solar EPC and project development firm in Japan. In terms of active manufacturing scale and global supply presence, AKCOME currently holds the stronger industrial footprint.
AKCOME's current portfolio centers on two mainstream cell technologies: TOPCon, available in its AK iTopper series, and HJT, featured in its AK iPower line. These modules are aimed at utility-scale ground-mount and large commercial rooftop projects. Solar Frontier, after exiting thin-film production, introduced an OEM monocrystalline residential panel, but its product offering as a panel brand remains limited and is oriented mainly toward the Japanese domestic market. The company's more active business lines now involve system integration, feasibility studies, and support for Japan's feed-in-tariff transition programs rather than module supply at scale.
For a buyer outside Japan seeking a volume module supplier in 2025, AKCOME is the more relevant choice, offering confirmed crystalline silicon products at gigawatt-scale capacity. Solar Frontier is best understood today not as a global panel manufacturer but as a Japan-focused solar developer and integrator. The two brands are not meaningfully interchangeable in their current market roles.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-14
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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.