Hanwha heir apparent named senior advisor at US energy investor

Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, the heir apparent of the South Korean energy-to-defense conglomerate, has been named a senior advisor at Sandbrook Capital Management LLC, a US private investment firm focused on clean energy.

Kim became one of seven senior advisors at the Connecticut-based investment firm early this year, according to industry sources on Monday. It is the first time he has held an official title outside of Hanwha Group.

Founded in 2021, the US asset manager has invested $4 billion worth of equities in renewable power and supply chains.    

By taking the position, Kim has gained exclusive access to investment data on the US renewables market, as well as expanded networks with the country’s energy investment sector and authorities, sources said.

He has led Hanwha Solutions Corp. a petrochemical and renewable unit of Hanwha Group as its CEO since September 2020. He was promoted to become the group’s vice chairman last August.

Kim, the eldest son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University and joined the chairman’s office of Hanwha Group in 2010. He began serving in the green energy business in 2011 when he moved to Hanwha Solarone, the group’s former solar module unit, which was merged with Hanwha Q Cells Co. in 2014.

The vice chairman spends about half the year in the US to oversee the solar businesses, sources said.

Hanwha Q Cells is one of the top solar module manufacturers in the US with a market share of about 25%. Hanwha Solutions announced in January that it will build a complete solar supply chain with a $2.5 billion investment in the US state of Georgia by 2024, the largest sum for a company to pour into the country's solar energy market.

Kim reaffirmed the plan last week when US Vice President Kamala Harris visited Hanwha Solutions’ solar panel manufacturing facilities in the state to showcase the achievements of the Biden Administration’s policies including the Inflation Reduction Act.
 
Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.