Hyundai vs Sonnen - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Hyundai has the broader catalog (65 vs 0 models). Hyundai leans bifacial (66% 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
HD Hyundai Energy Solutions is a global provider of solar cells and modules, offering solutions for residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects. They provide monofacial, bifacial, and shingled PV modules, along with inverters and various PV solutions. The company is committed to developing next-generation...
- Founded
- 2004
- Headquarters
- Seongnam-si, South Korea
- Annual capacity
- 1.35 GW/year
- Employees
- 206
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Sonnen is a German energy storage technology company specializing in intelligent home battery systems, most notably the sonnenBatterie — the world's first all-in-one lithium-ion home battery system commercially available. The company also develops virtual power plant (VPP) solutions and energy community platforms...
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- Wildpoldsried, Germany
- Employees
- 1000-2000
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
Hyundai skews to higher efficiency: 6% of lineup is 23%+
Hyundai offers more 600W+ panels (5% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>HJT</strong> (38%)
The flagships
Written summary
Hyundai Energy Solutions, the solar division of South Korea's HD Hyundai Group - a Fortune Global 500 conglomerate - has manufactured solar modules since the early 2000s and holds Bloomberg Tier 1 bankable status. It is recognised as a PVEL 2025 Top Performer, an independently verified reliability benchmark. The company began mass production of N-type TOPCon cells in April 2025, signalling a deliberate push into the higher-efficiency segment. Sonnen, by contrast, is a German energy storage specialist founded in 2010 in Wildpoldsried, Bavaria. It does not manufacture solar panels; instead it produces smart residential battery systems designed to store power generated by third-party solar arrays. Sonnen was acquired by Shell in 2019 and has since been positioned for a further sale at a reported valuation of roughly 1.35-1.8 billion euros. In terms of institutional footprint, Hyundai carries the broader solar manufacturing credential.
Hyundai Energy Solutions' current residential lineup centres on N-type TOPCon modules - the NF series in all-black format reaching roughly 22.53% efficiency - plus older bifacial PERC models in the YH series suited to ground-mounted residential or light commercial applications. A 640 W bifacial TOPCon panel also targets larger commercial and utility-adjacent projects. Sonnen's products sit at the other end of the value chain: the sonnenCore+ and sonnenEvo are lithium iron phosphate (LFP) residential battery units warranted for 10,000 charge cycles, paired with a virtual power plant network that can earn homeowners credits for grid participation.
For a buyer shopping for solar panels, Hyundai Energy Solutions is the relevant choice - it is a genuine, Tier 1 bankable module manufacturer with a full product range covering residential through commercial scales. Sonnen belongs in a separate purchasing decision, namely the choice of battery storage paired alongside whichever panels a homeowner installs. The two brands are complementary rather than competing; a well-specified residential solar-plus-storage system could plausibly include both.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-13
Other brand comparisons
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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.