Shoals awarded more than $96 million in damages in patent dispute with Voltage

A federal jury in a North Carolina U.S. District Court has awarded electrical balance of systems (EBOS) provider Shoals more than $96.38 million in damages in its case against its competitor, Voltage Energy.

The jury found Voltage willfully infringed on two patents covering Shoals’s Big Lead Assembly trunk bus technology when it imported its LYNX trunk bus products into the U.S., ultimately awarding the money based on lost profits and price erosion suffered by Shoals as a result of the infringement.

Because the jury determined the infringement was willful, the court has the discretion to increase the total damages award. Additionally, Shoals says the court indicated it will grant a preliminary injunction preventing the manufacture, distribution and sale of Voltage’s LYNX products in the United States.

In a statement following the verdict, Shoals CEO Brandon Moss said “Shoals’ patented BLA solution helped revolutionize the solar industry. These outcomes affirm the strength of our intellectual property and the importance of protecting the innovations behind our differentiated solutions. We are grateful to the Court and jury for their time, attention, and careful consideration. Shoals will continue to compete aggressively, invest in American manufacturing, and defend the technology that supports our long-term growth.”

For its part, Voltage says it will seek a new trial and a review of the verdict. “Voltage Energy strongly disagrees with the jury’s verdict and believes the judgment is not supported by legally sufficient evidence or the law,” read a statement from the company. “The Company will pursue all available post-trial remedies.”

Voltage Energy CEO Li Wang added a statement of his own, saying “We are confident in our record for appeal and the Court’s prior findings that Shoals violated an agreement prohibiting its counsel’s involvement in obtaining these patents. Voltage independently developed LYNX in 2021 through its own engineering efforts, three years before the patents asserted by Shoals were issued. Our focus remains on proudly powering the renewable energy industry.”

This verdict in the North Carolina District Court case follows a related ruling by the U.S. International Trade Commission in June. As previously reported, the ITC issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting the importation of specific Voltage photovoltaic trunk bus cable assemblies found to infringe on Shoals’ patents. 

That same ITC proceeding found that three alternative designs for a newer LYNX PLUS trunk bus product did not infringe on Shoals patents. At the time, Roth Capital Partners said it had received reports of the newer designs being slated for use in the U.S. by mid-2027.