Q-Cells vs Solarfam - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Q-Cells has the broader catalog (89 vs 0 models). 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
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
Solarfam is a Dutch solar energy brand operating under the parent company Solmax New Energy B.V. The company distributes and sells solar panels, inverters, batteries, controllers, and water pump systems, targeting both residential and agricultural markets. It positions itself as a sales and integration brand sourcing...
- Headquarters
- Nieuwegein, Netherlands
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>PERC</strong> (43%)
The flagships
Written summary
Q-Cells, formally known as Hanwha Q CELLS, traces its roots to Germany, where Q-Cells SE was founded in 1999 as one of Europe's earliest large-scale solar cell producers. South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group acquired the company in 2012, retaining significant R&D and manufacturing operations in Germany while adding a major U.S. factory in Dalton, Georgia - described as the largest silicon solar module facility in the Western Hemisphere. Hanwha Q CELLS holds BloombergNEF Tier 1 bankability status, and annual module shipments are projected to exceed 9 GW in 2025. Solarfam, by contrast, is a niche brand of Solmax New Energy B.V., a compact Dutch integrator headquartered in Nieuwegein, Netherlands. The brand does not appear on any Tier 1 or bankability list, and no independently verified production capacity figures are publicly available. On institutional scale and financial standing, Q-Cells is in a different league entirely.
Q-Cells covers the full spectrum of solar deployments. Its core modules are built on proprietary PERC technology branded Q.ANTUM, and the company is transitioning capacity toward TOPCon, with perovskite-silicon tandem cells targeted for mass production around 2026. Efficiencies reach up to 22.5%, and the brand is well represented across premium residential rooftops, commercial installations, and utility-scale ground-mounts. Solarfam's catalog is narrower, focusing on off-grid and recreational segments - panels for caravans, yachts, and small rural power plants - alongside semi-flexible modules and solar water pumps. The company also distributes inverters and batteries, giving it the profile of a compact system integrator rather than a volume module manufacturer. Solarfam lists TOPCon-N modules on its website, though independent performance data for these is scarce.
For a typical buyer in 2025 - homeowner, commercial developer, or project financier - Q-Cells is the clear default, backed by Tier 1 bankability, multi-gigawatt scale, 25-year product warranties, and a wide installer network. Solarfam serves a genuinely different niche, making it a credible option for off-grid recreational or agricultural applications where compact sizing and system flexibility matter more than institutional bankability. For mainstream grid-tied solar, the two brands are not meaningfully interchangeable.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-06-09
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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.