Hanwha Solutions to invest 380 billion won to build solar energy infrastructure

At the Intersolar Europe 2022, Europe’s biggest solar energy exhibition which took place in Munich, Germany, Hanwha Solutions announced a plan to invest a total of 380 billion won in South Korea and the United States to build high-performance solar cells and modules.

The South Korean energy company will first invest 180 billion won to newly establish the production line of solar cells based on the tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) structure. Hanwha Solutions’ investment into domestic facilities for producing solar cells is the first in five years. TOPCon technology enables high-performance energy generation by introducing a tunnel oxide layer between the substrate and polysilicon, featuring 1 percentage point increase in power generation compared to the existing technology.

Hanwha Solutions will procure 5.4 gigawatts of solar cell production, which is the largest production volume in South Korea, and begin to produce TOPCon cells from the first half of 2023. By 2025, the company will invest 1 trillion won into building domestic production and R&D facilities and continue developing advanced solar cells, switching production lines, and researching next-generation solar cells.

The company will invest 200 billion won to build a 1.4-gigawatt solar module plant in the U.S. that is capable of producing high-performance solar modules using TOPCon cells, which the company hopes to start mass produce in the first half of 2023. The new investment will enable Hanwha Solutions to produce a 3.1 gigawatt solar modules, combined with the existing production capability of 1.7 gigawatt, making it the largest solar energy producer operating in the U.S.


Do-Young Kwak now@donga.com