ASM vs Leapton - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Leapton has the broader catalog (119 vs 1 models). Leapton leads on peak efficiency at 23.32%. Leapton leans bifacial (49% 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
Australian Solar Manufacturing (ASM) is a small Australian solar panel assembler that produces crystalline monocrystalline modules domestically using components sourced from Germany, Japan, the USA, and China. The company focuses on providing locally assembled PV modules tailored to Australian conditions, supporting...
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- Hallam, Victoria, Australia
- Employees
- 1-10
Leapton Energy, headquartered in Japan, is a global leader in the solar PV industry, specializing in Tier-1 solar modules, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and inverters. With over 10 years of experience, Leapton Energy's products are now available in more than 70 countries worldwide.
- Founded
- 2012
- Headquarters
- Kobe, Japan
- Annual capacity
- 3+ GW/year
- 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
Leapton skews to higher efficiency: 7% of lineup is 23%+
Leapton offers more 600W+ panels (32% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (88%)
The flagships
Written summary
ASM (Australian Solar Manufacturing) is a micro-scale panel assembler headquartered in Victoria, Australia, founded in 2009 with a reported headcount of fewer than ten staff and no publicly disclosed gigawatt-level production capacity. It is not Bloomberg Tier 1 bankable and carries no current panel portfolio with meaningful wattage or efficiency data. Leapton, by contrast, was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Japan with manufacturing operations in China and a stated production capacity exceeding 3 GW. It holds a consistent Bloomberg New Energy Finance Tier 1 bankable rating and was named a top performer in Kiwa PVEL's 2025 PV Module Reliability Scorecard, giving it a substantially stronger institutional footprint than ASM.
Leapton's active portfolio of 119 panels tells a clear technical story. Average output sits at 546 Wp and peaks at 720 Wp, while average panel efficiency reaches 22.2% with a top-of-range figure of 23.3% - competitive with the best mainstream manufacturers. TOPCon n-type cells dominate roughly 88% of the lineup, nearly half the portfolio (49%) is bifacial, and the average product warranty runs just under 29.5 years. An average temperature coefficient of -0.31% per degree Celsius is solid for a mass-market range. This combination of high wattage, mature n-type cell technology, and extended warranties suits premium residential rooftops, light commercial systems, and mid-scale agrivoltaic ground-mount projects alike. ASM, with no current panel specifications on record and a single-digit headcount, cannot meaningfully compete on technical depth, product range, or bankability.
For any buyer in 2025 - homeowner, installer, or project financier - Leapton is the practical choice between these two. ASM's absence of a Tier 1 rating and lack of current panel data make it unsuitable for projects requiring lender sign-off or long-term performance guarantees. Leapton offers a documented, bankable, high-efficiency lineup at a price point that typically undercuts tier-one peers, making it a defensible default across most residential and light commercial applications.
- Leapton Solar Panels: Budget Tier 1 Panels Made In China (Not Japan)
- Leapton Energy debuts 600-625 W TOPCon panel based on rectangular wafers
- Leapton launches TOPCon module range with max conversion efficiency of 22.95%
- Leapton Solar - Kiwa PVEL 2025 PV Module Reliability Scorecard
- ASM - Australian Solar Manufacturing panel directory listing (ENF Solar)
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-13
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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.