KDM Kingdom Solar vs Q-Cells - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Q-Cells has the broader catalog (89 vs 3 models). Q-Cells leads on peak efficiency at 23.20%. Q-Cells leans bifacial (39% 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
KDM Kingdom Solar is a Chinese solar module manufacturer based in Hefei, Anhui Province. The company specializes in manufacturing monocrystalline solar panels for global markets.
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- Hefei, China
- Annual capacity
- 1 GW/year
- Employees
- 100
Qcells is a renowned global provider of complete energy solutions, specializing in solar cells and modules, energy storage solutions, downstream project business, and energy retail. The company has a strong heritage dating back to its foundation in Germany and has become a leader in technology innovations. As an...
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- Seoul, South Korea
- Annual capacity
- 11.2 GW/year
- Employees
- 2000+
- Listed
- NASDAQ: HQCL
- 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
Q-Cells skews to higher efficiency: 2% of lineup is 23%+
Q-Cells offers more 600W+ panels (19% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>N-type</strong> (100%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (43%)
The flagships
Written summary
KDM Kingdom Solar, trading as KDM, is a Chinese manufacturer based in Linhai City, Zhejiang Province, operating under the full name Zhejiang Kingdom Solar Energy Technic Co., Ltd. The company reports an annual production capacity of approximately 1 GW and distributes modules in more than 100 countries. No BloombergNEF Tier 1 or equivalent bankability designation for KDM appears in current industry sources. Q-Cells is the solar brand of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group - the original Q-Cells GmbH was a German company founded in 1999 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen and acquired by Hanwha in 2012. Hanwha Q-Cells holds a confirmed BloombergNEF Top Tier bankability score, was named an S&P Global 2025 Tier 1 Cleantech company, and reports a global module production capacity of around 12.4 GW, with projected shipments exceeding 9 GW in 2025. It also operates the largest solar manufacturing facility in the Western Hemisphere in Dalton, Georgia. On institutional footprint, Q-Cells is the considerably larger and more bankable player.
KDM Kingdom Solar's catalog focuses on monocrystalline and polycrystalline modules aimed at budget commercial and export markets, with 182-series high-wattage panels among its more recent products. Specific cell architecture - whether PERC or TOPCon - was not confirmed in available 2025 sources. Q-Cells offers two well-documented product families: the Q.PEAK DUO series, built on PERC cell architecture with efficiency around 20 to 21 percent, and the newer Q.TRON series, which uses N-type TOPCon technology and reaches up to 22.5 percent efficiency on standard residential models. Both carry a 25-year product warranty - roughly double the industry norm - alongside proprietary anti-PID and anti-LID treatments. Q-Cells is widely deployed in premium residential rooftops and commercial installations across Europe, North America, and Australia.
For a typical buyer in 2025, Q-Cells is the safer default: confirmed bankability, strong warranty coverage, and broad installer support in major markets make it a straightforward choice for residential and commercial projects. KDM Kingdom Solar may suit price-sensitive buyers or developers in markets where Q-Cells distribution is thin, but its lower public profile and unverified bankability status add procurement risk. The two brands are not interchangeable - Q-Cells competes in the premium-to-mid-range tier where lender acceptance and long-term service matter, while KDM is better characterized as a budget or emerging-market option.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-21
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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.