AIKO builds N type ABC panels, short for all back contact. Every electrical contact sits behind the cell, so nothing shades the front face and more of it turns sunlight into power. The result is the highest module efficiency of any panel we install, up to 25.0 percent on the current NEOSTAR generation, in a clean all black module with no visible grid lines.
AIKO was founded in 2009, runs R&D centres in Freiburg in Germany and Zhuhai and Yiwu in China, and supports the Australian market from a Melbourne office. AIKO describes the current range as delivering “Australia’s Highest Power Output Under 2m²”, and its datasheets name Munich RE as warranty partner.
Choose AIKO when roof space is tight or complicated and you want maximum power from every square metre. The back contact design also gives it the best looks of our three ranges, which matters on a street facing roof. And with a temperature coefficient of -0.26 percent per degree, it holds its output well through a Northern Rivers summer.
It is also the strongest long term performer on paper. The NEOSTAR performance warranty guarantees 88.85 percent of rated output at year 30, with degradation limited to 1 percent in the first year and 0.35 percent a year after that.
The trade offs
Where the other brands answer back
Honestly, AIKO is not the automatic pick. Phono Solar’s Australian Quasar range matches the -0.26 temperature coefficient and carries a longer hardware warranty, 30 years residential against AIKO’s 25. Trina’s Vertex S+ family offers more format choice from a maker that has been building panels since 1997, at efficiencies up to 23.7 percent. If your roof is large and open, the extra efficiency of AIKO buys you less and the value equation shifts. We will show you the numbers for your roof before you decide.
Verified specifications
NEOSTAR residential range
Three generations are available in Australia, each in 54 and 60 cell formats with mono glass and dual glass versions. Figures below are from AIKO’s Australian datasheets and product pages.
Specifications per manufacturer datasheets, July 2026. Subject to change.
For commercial roofs AIKO also supplies the COMET range, 590 W to 690 W with a 15 year product warranty. See our commercial solar page.
The hardware
NEOSTAR up close
NEOSTAR 3P54 dual glass. Image: AIKO.
NEOSTAR 3S54. Image: AIKO.
Good questions
AIKO questions, answered
What does back contact actually mean?
Conventional panels carry thin metal lines across the front of each cell to collect current, and those lines shade the cell. Back contact cells move all of that to the rear, so the full front face collects light. That is where the efficiency advantage comes from, and it is why the panel looks uniformly black from the street.
How does AIKO handle shade?
AIKO promotes partial shading optimisation on the NEOSTAR range, describing its modules as carrying best in class shade optimisation technology. As with any panel, real shade performance depends on system design, which is why we model your actual roof and shading before quoting.
Is AIKO a big enough company to honour a 25 year warranty?
AIKO reports more than 10,000 employees, over 200 GW of cumulative cell and module shipments, and six major production bases, and its datasheets name Munich RE as warranty partner. No one can guarantee any company’s future, so it also matters that your installer will still be here. We are local, twelve plus years in, and we answer our own phone on 0420 141 078.
Which NEOSTAR generation should I buy?
Generation 3 is the flagship with the highest efficiency. Generation 2 and 1S remain current and can be sharp value where roof space is not the constraint. We quote the generation that gives your roof the best cost per kilowatt hour.
Free quote, no pressure
Price an AIKO system for your roof
We will design it, quote it fixed, and install it with our team.
Tell us what you are after and we will come back to you within one business day with real numbers for your property. Prefer to talk? Call 0420 141 078.
