Avaada vs AKCOME - solar panel manufacturer comparison

Avaada is the solar manufacturing arm of India's Avaada Group, founded in 2009 by Vineet Mittal and headquartered in India, with the broader group now running over 7 GW of operational renewable capacity and a renewable portfolio exceeding 17 GW. Its module business, Avaada Electro, is described as India's third-largest solar PV manufacturer by operational capacity and earned a Grade A ranking in Wood Mackenzie's H1 2025 Global Solar Module Manufacturer Rankings, a benchmark tied to manufacturing quality and bankability. AKCOME, formally Jiangsu Akcome Science and Technology, is a Chinese manufacturer founded in 2006, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange since 2011, and headquartered in Zhejiang province, with a sales presence in more than 80 countries. AKCOME has historically been recognized as a Tier 1 supplier and an early pioneer of heterojunction (HJT) cell technology, but industry Tier 1 tracking lists have reported it dropping off the BloombergNEF-style Tier 1 list in recent rankings, which can matter for project financing. On institutional footprint, Avaada currently holds the stronger position, backed by an independent third-party Grade A rating and a large, diversified parent conglomerate spanning generation, manufacturing, and green hydrogen.

Product-wise, Avaada focuses on N-type TOPCon bifacial modules, including high-wattage glass-glass panels around 720 Wp with efficiency near 23.18 percent, aimed primarily at utility-scale and industrial/commercial installations in the Indian market. AKCOME's catalog spans two lines: the AK iPower series built on HJT cells, where the company has pushed mass-production efficiency to roughly 25.6 percent, and the AK iTopper series using TOPCon, giving it a broader spread across premium HJT-based products and more mainstream TOPCon modules for residential, commercial, and utility segments, plus a mounting-systems business.

For a typical 2025 buyer, the choice depends on priorities: Avaada is the safer default where financability and a current third-party quality rating matter, particularly for large Indian utility-scale projects, while AKCOME remains technically credible, especially for buyers specifically wanting HJT-based high-efficiency modules, but its uncertain Tier 1 status warrants extra due diligence on financing terms before committing to large projects.

Generated by Claude Sonnet 5 · 2026-09-30