Longi Solar vs ARTsolar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Longi Solar has the broader catalog (255 vs 0 models). Longi Solar leans bifacial (40% 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
LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd. is a world-leading solar technology company that manufactures monocrystalline silicon wafers and modules. The company is committed to providing high-efficiency and reliable clean energy solutions for large-scale power plants, various industries, and households. LONGi aims to be...
- Founded
- 2000
- Headquarters
- Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Annual capacity
- 85-90 GW/year
- Employees
- 37,853
- 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
Longi Solar skews to higher efficiency: 43% of lineup is 23%+
Longi Solar offers more 600W+ panels (38% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>N-type</strong> (42%)
The flagships
Written summary
ARTsolar is a South African manufacturer founded in 2010 and headquartered in Durban, making it the only 100% locally owned solar panel producer in the country. Its facility uses Swiss and German equipment and, following a 2025 agreement with JA Solar, operates a 340 MW assembly line producing large-format n-type modules. ARTsolar does not appear on BloombergNEF's Tier 1 bankability list, which limits its eligibility for certain project-finance structures outside South Africa. LONGi Solar, by contrast, was founded in 2000 in Xi'an, China, and is one of the world's largest module producers, with annual production capacity exceeding 110 GW and BloombergNEF Tier 1 recognition for both modules and storage. In terms of institutional footprint and global bankability, LONGi is in an entirely different league.
On the product side, ARTsolar's current lineup centers on modules assembled under JA Solar's DeepBlue 4.0 Pro platform, targeting domestic utility and commercial projects that must meet South Africa's local-content procurement rules. LONGi's Hi-MO series covers a much wider range of applications - from premium residential rooftops to large utility-scale ground mounts. Its flagship lines use proprietary HPBC 2.0 back-contact cell technology, with the Hi-MO X10 delivering 670 W output at 24.8% module efficiency, and the newer HIBC platform achieving a certified cell efficiency of 27.81%, currently a world record.
For a buyer outside South Africa, LONGi is the clear default choice in 2025: its global supply chain, Tier 1 bankability, and leading cell technology make it suitable for virtually any project type. ARTsolar's value proposition is specific and legitimate - it exists to serve South African projects where local-content compliance, job creation, and rand-denominated supply chains matter. Buyers in that context may actually prefer ARTsolar, but the two brands are not interchangeable on the global stage.
- JA Solar, ARTsolar agree to expand PV module manufacturing in South Africa
- ARTsolar in South Africa - Climate Scorecard
- LONGi officially launches HIBC technology and true 700W module at SNEC 2025
- LONGi Solar panels review - SolarReviews
- LONGi displays 25%+ efficiency BC module at SNEC 2025 - TaiyangNews
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-19
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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.