Hanwha Q CELLS to join EU project for cutting-edge solar batteries

Hanwha Q CELLS Co. on Thursday said it will join an R&D project for next-generation solar cells that has received 15 million euros (around 20 billion won) in support from the European Union (EU).

The project seeks to test- and mass-produce perovskite silicon tandem cells, whose efficiency is 50% higher than that of the restricted silicon cells.

A tandem cell is made by putting a layer of perovskite, a promising new material in solar power, on top of a silicon layer. Such cells have high efficiency in potential power generation as they can additionally absorb light in areas where silicon single cells cannot; the latter type controls over 90% of the global market for solar power.

Construction of the pilot production line for the tandem cells is set at the Hanwha Q CELLS global R&D center in Thalheim, Germany. The goal is to mass-produce high-efficiency tandem cells for four years through 2026 and develop equipment, processes, and materials to make tandem cell-based modules.

Seventeen photovoltaic companies and think tanks in Europe including Hanwha Q CELLS are in the consortium.

The project seeks to achieve the EU's goals for transformation toward renewable energy through the commercialization of high-efficiency tandem cells. In June, the EU announced its REPowerEU plan to raise its share of renewable energy from 32% this year to 45% by 2030.

Hanwha Q CELLS will mass-produce the tandem cells after June 2026 based on the project's research results. In March, the company developed a tandem cell with a maximum of 28.7% efficiency in cooperation with the German think tank Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.

Hanwha Q CELLS is also continuing R&D collaboration in tandem cells with domestic industry-academic groups.

CEO Lee Koo-yung said, "Hanwha Q CELLS is striving with leading domestic and foreign institutions to push up the commercialization of tandem cells," adding, "We will keep leading technological innovation in the next-generation photovoltaic market under a two-track R&D system based in Europe and Korea."

Write to Sang-Eun Lee at selee@hankyung.com