Q-Cells vs Recom - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Q-Cells has the broader catalog (89 vs 61 models). Recom leads on peak efficiency at 24.30%.
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
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
Recom skews to higher efficiency: 33% of lineup is 23%+
Recom offers more 600W+ panels (36% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (43%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (84%)
The flagships
Written summary
Q-Cells is a German-founded, South Korean-owned manufacturer, established in 1999 in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany, and acquired out of bankruptcy in 2012 by Hanwha, a large South Korean conglomerate. Today it operates as Hanwha Qcells, holding both Bloomberg NEF Tier 1 and S&P Global Tier 1 Cleantech status, with global module production capacity in the low-to-mid teens of gigawatts per year and manufacturing sites in South Korea, Malaysia, China and the United States, including the largest solar factory in the Western Hemisphere in Dalton, Georgia. Recom is a smaller, France-based manufacturer that also carries Bloomberg Tier 1 status, with installed capacity reported around 3.2 GW, a much more modest institutional footprint than Q-Cells but still recognized within bankability rankings. Between the two, Q-Cells has the clearly stronger institutional backing, thanks to Hanwha's scale, US domestic manufacturing presence and broader financial resources.
In terms of product focus, Q-Cells is best known for mainstream residential and commercial rooftop panels using N-type and PERC-derived cell technology, and it has leaned heavily into US-made modules to capture domestic content incentives, making it a common choice for North American homeowners and installers seeking a bankable, widely serviced brand. Recom's portfolio skews toward higher-efficiency panels, including heterojunction (HJT) modules such as its Lion series, which reaches up to roughly 720 W and 23.2% efficiency with bifacial, double-glass construction aimed at utility-scale and large commercial arrays, alongside TOPCon-based products for other segments.
For a typical residential buyer in 2025, Q-Cells is generally the safer default given its larger manufacturing base, longer track record, and stronger local installer and service network, particularly in the US market. Recom is a reasonable choice for buyers or developers prioritizing higher per-panel efficiency or HJT technology for utility and large commercial projects, but its smaller scale means less redundancy in supply and service compared with Q-Cells.
Generated by Claude Sonnet 5 · 2026-07-30
Other brand comparisons
Shop prices: See 25 Q-Cells offers · See 3 Recom offers
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.