Hanwha Solar Opens R&D Center in Silicon Valley

Top 10 Worldwide Solar Company to Conduct Next-Generation Product R&D in California

[04 April, 2012] Hanwha Solar, a global provider of photovoltaic (PV) solar solutions, today opened a state-of-the-art PV research and development (R&D) laboratory in Santa Clara, Calif. The facility will explore a variety of next-generation PV concepts for efficient, low-cost conversion of solar energy into electricity.

“Hanwha Solar located this facility in Silicon Valley to tap into the region’s culture of innovation and technical expertise,” said Hee Cheul Kim, president of Hanwha Solar. “It is critical for a global company like Hanwha Solar to have a strong presence in California, because it is the epicenter of clean technology R&D. The investment being made in solar is a reflection of the confidence the Hanwha Group has in clean energy as a long term growth engine.”

Hanwha Solar invested $14 million in the 30,000 square foot facility, which was built with room for expansion in mind. The company will employ 30 people at the R&D center, in addition to the 47 people it employs across the U.S. Altogether, Hanwha Solar has invested $50 million in the U.S. over the previous two years, broadening its local presence and gain access to advanced solar technology through strategic partnerships with businesses like OneRoof Energy, Crystal Solar, Solar Monkey and 1366 Technologies. Hanwha Solar will continue to increase the company’s footprint in the region over the coming years, making additional investments and increasing employment.

“A relentless commitment to new and better technology is key to Hanwha Solar’s competitiveness,” said chief technology officer Chris Eberspacher, who is based in the Santa Clara facility. “In solar technology, you can never rest on your laurels. Yesterday’s innovation can easily fade into obsolescence tomorrow. This center will keep Hanwha Solar on the next horizon of solar technology.”

Hanwha Solar has a total of three state-of-the-art R&D centers in Korea, China and the United States, focused on varying stages of solar innovation:

· KOREA Solar R&D Center: Next generation C-Si technologies
· CHINA Engineering Technology Center: Continuous cost efficiencies and competitive performance
· US Advanced R&D Laboratory: Advanced technologies to transform markets

Additionally, Hanwha Solar is launching a national marketing campaign to raise brand awareness in the U.S.

These actions are part of a concerted effort by Hanwha Solar to strengthen its position in North America and build the company into a world leading solar solutions provider.

Hanwha Group

Hanwha Group, founded in 1952, is one of the Top-Ten business enterprises in South Korea and a “FORTUNE Global 500” company. Hanwha Group has 70 domestic affiliates and 325 global networks in three major sectors: manufacturing and construction, finance, and services and leisure. With more than 65 years track record of industrial leadership, Hanwha’s manufacturing and construction businesses encompass a broad range of fields from chemicals & materials, aerospace & mechatronics, total solar energy solutions, and global construction. The finance network, covering insurance, asset management and securities, is the second largest non-bank financial group in South Korea. The services and leisure sector offers premium lifestyle services with retail and resort businesses.

For more information, visit: www.hanwha.com

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Corporate Video | English

//www.youtube.com/embed/rJtPjWsLY4o?autoplay=1

It would be difficult to start talking about Hanwha without two words: trust and loyalty.

These ideas have been the core values of Hanwha since its beginning, and they have acted as a compass throughout its decades.

Founded in 1952, Hanwha began its business by manufacturing dynamite and other explosives during a time of national crisis—when the Korean War was coming to an end, leaving the nation in ruins. Few companies were willing to take on the risks.

“To make explosives, precision is key, since everything must occur at an exact instant, in an exact way,” said Chong-Hee Kim, Founder of the Hanwha Group. “For this kind of control, we must trust one another completely.”

This emphasis on teamwork and precision during Hanwha’s earliest days allowed a strong and unique culture to develop and become forever embedded into our company’s corporate DNA.

During the following years of rapid growth, Hanwha expanded its business into various sectors and regions. Later, it was one of the few companies to survive the Asian economic crisis in 1997 and the global economic crisis in 2008. During good times and bad, the people of Hanwha stood behind our core values of trust and loyalty.

Today, Hanwha is a world leader in solar energy and in construction. We are building an entire city – the largest project currently under construction in the Middle East by a South Korean company.

It is also a major player in the global finance industry, continuously adapting to today’s rapidly changing financial landscapes and providing financial solutions that give customers the freedom to pursue their dreams.

Although many companies talk about the value of trust and loyalty, there is only a few that actually put those ideas into action.

For Hanwha, 'value' always comes first before its business, since Hanwha is focused on how and why the company is walking this path.

Hanwha has a solid reputation for keeping promises with partners and customers, for valuing long-term relationships, and for contributing to society. This is the spirit of Hanwha.

My name is Eddie Jung, and I am the editor of “Hanwha & Hanwha People,” the corporate magazine of the Hanwha Group.

Rather than talking about it, why don’t you meet the actual people of Hanwha and see for yourself?

Chemicals & Materials

Here at one of South Korea’s largest petrochemical facilities in the city of Yeosu, are 2 people who have worked together side by side for over 20 years.

Editor)
Hi guys, it’s so great to see you again. I don’t think you can underestimate the value of working together for 20 years, the way you two have.

Eun jeong Kim)
Hanwha co-workers have tremendous faith in one another. It bonds us, as does the work we’ve done.

Seon-jeong Jin)
Like with personal bonds, chemicals involve fusion.

Eun jeong Kim)
This fusion gives birth to new technology that lays a solid foundation for industry.

Hanwha utilizes economies of scale. Petroleum products, base chemicals, resin, chlorine, caustic soda, and new materials, make up a diverse portfolio of chemicals we produce.

And through a solid collaboration between all workers, our customers can depend on a reliable and stable product supply.

Our goal is to make life easier and more meaningful to everyone.

Seon-jeong Jin)
Based on these petrochemical materials, Hanwha produces a variety of advanced materials.

Our world-class automobile weight reducing materials like StrongLite(GMT) and SuperLite(LWRT), are already being exported to global automakers. These products are supplied through sales networks around the world.

Editor)
Petrochemicals are valuable not only to industry, it’s an important business that raises the quality of life.

I’m proud of the people of Hanwha, who lay the foundation for our lives and for industry.

Aerospace & Mechatronics

Hear at Hanwha’s Mechatronics Research Lab are a father, daughter, and son-in-law. A family of employees that crosses a generation.

Editor)
When we first met, it was just one person…and now there are three.

Jae il Kim)
For two generations to work at this company shows how strongly we believe in this industry and in this company.

Sun hee Kim)
He’s right. Seeing my dad’s work, I realized Hanwha’s mechatronics technology is something to be grateful for.

It does work that a human can’t do, because it’s too dangerous or requires extreme precision. It keeps the industry on the cutting edge, and makes our lives easier.

If this technology keeps improving, one day we’ll live in the world that was once just in our imagination.

As Hanwha endlessly advances in areas such as optronics, avionics, and unmanned vehicles, through its unmatched core technologies possibility becomes a reality, as we take a step closer to the future

Bong kyo Park)
Our goal of using next-generation robotics solutions to create a world of innovation is Hanwha’s core desire to give people a safer and more convenient future.

Even today, Hanwha continues to advance its technology so everyone can enjoy a better life.

Solar Energy

Land that was dying from pollution and contamination, has now been transformed into a sustainable energy facility. The Maywood Solar Farm (Indiana, USA)

(Editor)
Dr. Christoph, great to see you again. It looks like you’ve taken a dying plot of land and given it a whole new life.

Dr. Christoph)
We can’t give up, can we? We need to protect the planet we’re living in.

Solar energy is a sustainable solution that transforms the way people produce and use energy. We’re in the business of using what the planet provides to its full potential.

Hanwha is the world’s leading producer of photovoltaics, with the world’s largest in-house cell production capacity.

We operate a strategically diversified manufacturing footprint that gives us a significant competitive advantage.

Editor)
And it’s just not cells. Hanwha is providing comprehensive solutions that cover the entire value chain from polysilicon to ingots, wafers, and modules and downstream businesses.

Dr. Christoph)
You’re absolutely right. At the technology innovation center in Germany, we constantly research ways to produce state-of-the-art quality products, which go through rigorous quality controls to substantiate the reliability and efficiency.

The global presence and trust that Hanwha Group has earned, its economies of scale, Hanwha Q CELLS’ unrivaled technology and efficient operation, all help Hanwha’s solar energy business in Europe, in Asia, in America and around the world stay intact and keep clients satisfied.

We believe that solar energy is the best solution for several major problems facing our planet, such as climate change, energy depletion, and energy poverty. We’re on a mission to make solar energy the most trustworthy source of sustainable energy in the world.

Editor)
Solar power is more than just an energy solution. It’s an endeavor that will preserve the earth’s environment for future generations.

Finance

We’re here at Vietnam’s financial mecca, Ho Chi Minh City! Hanwha’s financial affiliates are placed all over Asia, demonstrating Korea’s financial strengths.

Editor)
Do you still value trust as highly as before?

Trang)
Of course. Because trust is the backbone of finance. Not only is it a personal belief, but trust and loyalty is a corporate philosophy that Hanwha believes is of utmost importance.

With that foundation of trust, Hanwha has grown to be a global financial business that boasts more than 100 billion USD in assets.

Hanwha has a comprehensive financial network, including life insurance, general insurance, investments, asset management, and savings.

We’re now in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and expanding into other Asian markets. With all the knowledge that we’ve accumulated for more than 70 years in the financial business in Korea, we’re looking to operate an even more secure, reliable financial system for people around the world.

Editor)
The trustworthiness of Hanwha.

I can trust that Hanwha will make a richer and fuller tomorrow for its customers around the world

Construction

Bismayah, Iraq, known to many as the Miracle in the Desert.I remember once seeing a man so dedicated to his work even in the scorching heat. We meet again.

Editor)
Wow, the scale of this place is really amazing. Where did you find the strength to work in such difficult conditions?

Ali)
The amazing trust that we have with our clients and colleagues is what creates the miracle in the desert, as they say. There’s no way to accomplish what we have with an individual’s skill alone. Trust is the bedrock of this tremendous undertaking.

Building and construction is a business that helps create a new world.

From successfully winning the contract and carrying out the work of building the world’s biggest city development project in Bismayah, Iraq, to the Philippine Arena, the world’s largest domed arena built with cutting edge technology and the construction of the largest precast concrete plant, having worked on a broad range of overseas construction projects over the years, Hanwha has a deep pool of expertise.

Hanwha will continue to make history by physically building a brighter future in every corner of the world.

Editor)
Hanwha continues growth in overseas construction revenue that it achieved in the past three years.

I’m eager to see Hanwha take even bigger strides as a global corporation

Services & Leisure

I’m about to meet two people who are at the forefront of Hanwha’s Services & Leisure business.

Editor)
So nice to see you both again. You look fabulous and of course, you always have a great smile to greet me with.

Yoon jeong Yoo)
Of course! We smile, so our customers will too.

Pil do Kim)
We’re in the business of making people smile.

Yoon jeong Yoo)
If we’re able to make our customers happier, then we can smile together. We’re launching a variety of businesses that make a difference and bring more fulfillment to our customers’ lives.

From the Galleria, a premium department store that leads Korea’s fashion trends, to THE PLAZA, a luxury boutique hotel in the heart of Seoul, and Korea’s largest condominium chain with 12 resorts, aquariums, golf courses, and various other leisure centers, we are one of Korea’s most well-known and respected leisure and lifestyle brands.

Pil do Kim)
You can’t leave out the duty free business where I work. We operate world-class duty free shops in Korea’s top tourist destinations, Seoul and Jeju.

Yoon jeong Yoo)
Hanwha has the largest and finest properties with unparalleled customer service to lead Korea’s lifestyle industry.

Utilizing our longstanding expertise, we are entering China and other overseas markets.

Editor)
That’s why they say Hanwha symbolizes the best of Korea’s services and leisure industry.

And your smiles are world-class.
I hope you never lose them.

Hanwha

Lastly, I’m meeting a man who started as a vendor and now, he makes up a valuable part of Hanwha.

Editor)
Mr. Hong, your first contract with Hanwha was 50 years ago. Do you still remember?

Ki-seok Hong)
I’ll never forget that day when I became part of the Hanwha family. Compared to back then, we’ve grown and come a long way

Editor)
You have. So what does Hanwha mean to you?

Ki-seok Hong)
It’s like a family that you grow with. The relationship that started with me and Hanwha now includes my son. When you give it your best, you get back as much in kind

As a partner of Hanwha, you’re treated like family.
So the partner grows, when Hanwha grows.
It’s a formula where we both grow together.
What I’m most grateful for, is that Hanwha trusts us as partners and treats us like we’re part of one big family.

So when it comes to working with Hanwha, we consider it to be a top priority project for us. It’s a result of the trust we’ve built.

Editor)
The thread that weaves through 60-plus years of Hanwha history is trust.

Our partners are also our family…
It’s a sincere trust and loyalty you’ll naturally sense in Hanwha.

After having interviewed the people of Hanwha,
I realized that today’s Hanwha wasn’t built by the strength of any one individual. The people of Hanwha, are strengthened together by a bond of unwavering trust.

If every encounter, every relationship is precious and builds trust, success is sure to follow. Hanwha and all its partners in a future where we smile together in a relationship that last a lifetime

This is Hanwha’s promise.

The people I’ve met at Hanwha then and now show dedication and passion for their work, and a trust in each other that leads to trust from our customers.

Your Most trusted Partner
Hanwha

Hanwha Solar Opens R&D Center in Silicon Valley

Top 10 Worldwide Solar Company to Conduct Next-Generation Product R&D in California

Hanwha Group

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