Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced today that EVA and backseat manufacturers Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia plans to invest $147 million in a new manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia. The facility will create more than 160 new jobs for him and will supply materials for his Qcells solar panels manufactured statewide.
Hanwha Advanced Materials Georgia, a subsidiary of Hanwha Group, will supply encapsulation films to Qcells. Hanwha will be the only US manufacturer capable of producing ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) sheets. Endurans Solar in New Hampshire We specialize in manufacturing backsheets only.
Inhwan Kim, CEO of Hanwha Advanced Materials, said: “Building state-of-the-art advanced materials in Georgia will not only create new careers in the solar sector, but also help us deliver more affordable, reliable and clean energy to our customers nationwide.”
Hanwha will build a new encapsulant plant in the same area Qcells is building. 3.3 GW multi-step solar factoryThe encapsulant plant is expected to be operational by summer 2024, and the Qcells plant to start production in the second half of 2024.
“Qcells is committed to building a complete domestic solar supply chain, and this latest investment is critical to making that happen,” said HG Park, president of Qcells North America. “By working with Hanwha Advanced His Materials, customers can immediately know with confidence that the solar they buy from us is made right here in the USA.”
Today’s encapsulant announcement continues Hanwha Group’s move to become a dominant player in all aspects of the domestic solar panel supply chain. Hanwha is the largest shareholder of REC Silicon, Whole polysilicon supply Power from Moses Lake, Washington, for the next 10 years will go to Qcells (approximately 3.6 GW annually). Qcells is also starting his 3.3 GW ingot, wafer, cell, and panel manufacturing facility in Cartersville, Georgia, in addition to its existing panel manufacturing site in Dalton, Georgia. The company says he should have 8.4 GW of silicon solar panel capacity in the US by the end of 2024.
Hanwha Group’s extensive investments in the solar panel supply chain manufacturing tax credit in the Inflation control law.
Qcells also signed Contract with Canadian glass supplier To facilitate North American supply commitments.