Hanwha Q Cells

Hanwha Q Cells Co., Ltd., and "Hanwha Q Cells & Advanced Materials Corp.", commonly known as Q Cells or Hanwha Q Cells, are manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. They are headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Its technology and innovation center is located in Thalheim, Germany. Both companies are subsidiaries of Hanwha Chemical, an affiliate of the Hanwha Group. The companies operate under brand Q Cells. CEO of the company is Hee Cheul (Charles) Kim.

Hanwha Q Cells
IndustryEngineering
Founded2012 (2012)
HeadquartersSeoul, South Korea
Thalheim, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (technology and innovation)
Key people
Hee Cheul Kim (CEO)
Dong Kwan Kim (CCO)
Jung Pyo Seo (CFO)
Ji Weon Jeong (CTO)
ProductsPhotovoltaic cells
Solar modules
Solar systems
Large scale solar power plants
Number of employees
8,500 (2018)
ParentHanwha Chemical
Websitewww.q-cells.com

History

Roots of Hanwha Q Cells lay in Q-Cells AG (later: Q-Cells SE) and Solarfun (later: Hanwha SolarOne). Q-Cells AG was established in 1999 in Germany, by Anton Milner, Reiner Lemoine, Holger Feist, and Paul Grunow.[1] In July 2001, the first production line for polycrystalline solar cells went into operation in Thalheim, Germany. The first working solar cell was manufactured on 23 July 2001.[1]

On 5 October 2005, Q-Cells AG was listed in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.[1] In June 2009, the company acquired Solibro GmbH, a joint venture established in 2006 together with Solibro AB.[2] Solibro manufactured CIGS thin-film solar cells based on copper-indium-gallium-diselenide. These modules were marketed until the sale of Solibro to Hanergy in 2012.[3] In 2005, Q-Cells established the CdTe PV manufacturer Calyxo GmbH. In November 2007, Q-Cells agreed a deal with Solar Fields LLC, which intellectual property and assets were merged into Calyxo's newly established subsidiary Calyxo USA Inc.[4][5] In 2011, Solar Fields LLC took over Calyxo GmbH.[6]

In 2008, Q-Cells acquired 17.9% stake in Renewable Energy Corporation.[7] This stake was sold in 2009.[8] At the same year, Q-Cells' subsidiary Sontor merged with a thin-film company Solarfilm.[9]

In 2011, Q Cells SE posted significant losses and a restructuring was announced. On 3 April 2012, the company filed for insolvency.[1] In August 2012, the Hanwha Group agreed to acquire Q-Cells.[10] Following the liquidation process, the insolvent Q-Cells SE was renamed Global PVQ SE, and its assets were sold to Hanwha. Hanwha Q Cells GmbH was officially launched on 24 October 2012.[11]

In December 2014, the Hanwha Group announced a merger of its solar subsidiaries, Hanwha SolarOne and Hanwha Q Cells.[12] The merger was legally completed in February 2015.[13][14] The merged company was listed on the NASDAQ.[14] SolarOne was established in 2004 in China as Solarfun Power Holdings by Linyang Electronics. In 2006, Solarfun was listed at NASDAQ. In 2008, Solarfun acquired a manufacturer of silicon ingots Jiangsu Yungguang Solar. In 2010, 49% of company shares were acquired by Hanwha Chemical.[15] Consequently, Solarfun was renamed Hanwha SolarOne.[16]

Production in Germany was ceased in 2015 when due to high costs production was relocated to Malaysia.At the same year, a manufacturing facility was opened in South Korea. In 2017, in cooperation with Kalyon Enerji manufacturing was started in Turkey and in 2019 in the United States. In 2018, the wafer production was closed in China while a new wafer production facility was opened in 2019 in Malaysia.The cooperation in Turkey was ended in 2019.

In 2018, Hanwha continued to simplify its structure of solar units. Hanwha Q Cells Korea was merged with Hanwha Advanced Materials to form Hanwha Q Cells & Advanced Materials Corp.[17] In 2019, Hanwha Q Cells Co., Ltd. merged with Hanwha Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. and was delisted from NASDAQ.

Operations

Q Cells develops and produces mono- and polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and solar panels. It produces and installs PV systems for commercial, industrial, and residential applications and provides EPC services for large scale solar power plants. The company has production facilities in South Korea, Malaysia, China, and the United States. In Thalheim, Germany, the company has its worldwide center for technology, innovation and quality.In Korea, it operates a manufacturing facility in solar cell facility in Jincheon. In the United States, it has a 1,700 MW panel plant in Dalton, Georgia. In Malaysia, it owns a cell and module factory, and together with 1366 Technologies a wafer manufacturing facility in Cyberjaya, Selangor.

  • Facilities in Thalheim (Bitterfeld-Wolfen), Germany
  • Solar module manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia, United States
  • Solar module manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia, United States
  • Solar module manufacturing plant in Dalton, Georgia, United States
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See also

References
  1. Stange, Jennifer (2012-04-14). "Keeping solar power hopes alive". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  2. "Q-Cells takes over Solibro GmbH". Renewable Energy Focus. 2009-07-10. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  3. Steitz, Christoph (2012-06-05). "Hanergy to acquire Q-Cells's Solibro unit". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  4. "Q-Cells AG Partners With Solar Fields LLC". Solar Industry Magazine. 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  5. Pakulski, Gary T. (2007-11-06). "Perrysburg's Solar Fields bought by German concern". The Blade. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  6. "Calyxo Increases CdTe Production To Be Number One". Solar Power + Management. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  7. Lannin, Patrick (2008-04-30). "Orkla ends REC put option deal with Q-Cells". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  8. Bjartners, Anders (2009-04-29). "Q-Cells moves to sell $860m stake in Norway's REC". ReCharge. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  9. Stromsta, Karl (2009-04-29). "Q-Cells and Sunfilm join forces to form thin-film titan". ReCharge. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  10. Cho Mu-hyun (2012-08-27). "Hanwha acquires German solar-cell maker Q-Cells". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  11. "Hanwha Q.Cells officially launched". Eco-Business. 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  12. Dulaney, Chelsey (2014-12-08). "Hanwha Group to Consolidate Solar Holdings". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  13. Park Si-soo (2015-05-22). "Hanwha leading solar energy industry". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  14. Parnell, John (2015-02-06). "Hanwha SolarOne changing name to Hanwha Q CELLS on merger completion". PV Tech. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  15. Kim, Miyoung; Sarawagi, Vinay (2010-08-03). "Hanwha Chem to buy 50 pct of Solarfun for $370 mln". Reuters. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  16. "Solarfun Changing Name To Hanwha SolarOne". Energy Matters. 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  17. Kim Bo-gyung (2018-10-31). "Hanwha Q Cells Korea seeks to remain top solar cell maker". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
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