COMPANY PROFILE / PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS
Hanwha Qcells
A silicon volume maker steps into tandem mass production with money raised in a rights offering
Hanwha Qcells is a silicon solar maker with 11.4 GW of module capacity across Korea and the U.S. (end of 2025), and it is the "Qcells Division" of Hanwha Solutions, a Korean chemicals and energy company. In perovskites, it announced 28.6% for a tandem cell at a practical size (M10) in December 2024, and in July 2026 said it had become the first company to have tandem modules certified to IEC and UL standards. Of the roughly KRW 1.17 trillion raised in a rights offering completed in July 2026, Korea's statutory disclosures state that about KRW 495.7 billion will go to tandem pilot and mass-production lines. Meanwhile the 2023 goal of commercialisation "by 2026" has slipped: current disclosures give the start of cell mass production in November 2028 and module mass production in early 2029. This profile keeps the company as a whole brief and sets out who is putting how much into tandems, and by when, using Korean statutory filings and official releases.
- Hanwha Qcells in 30 seconds, and where it stands in perovskite solar cells
- The logo and how the name is written (and how it relates to Hanwha Corporation and Hanwha Solutions)
- Where the company sits in the perovskite solar landscape
- Scale (the solar business as a whole, in brief)
- Resources committed to perovskites
- Track record so far
- Plans ahead
- What the company is aiming for in perovskite solar cells
- Partnership map
- Technology, products and services
- The risks this company carries
- Glossary, references and claim-to-source audit
1. Hanwha Qcells in 30 seconds, and where it stands in perovskite solar cells
Hanwha Solutions CorporationA business division of a Korean listed company. Qcells is both the division name and the brand
(Hanwha Solutions)Largest shareholder: Hanwha Corporation (35.73% of common shares)
(tandem on silicon)Building on silicon cell volume production
/ Pangyo, KoreaPilot lines in Germany and at Jincheon, Korea
(M10, 330.56 cm²)The company says Fraunhofer ISE CalLab confirmed it (December 2024)
Modules: early 2029At its Korean plant. Initial capacity described only as GW-scale
Companies working on perovskite solar cells fall into three broad groups: established PV makers, perovskite start-ups, and newcomers from materials, chemicals and electronics. Hanwha Qcells is an established PV maker, and its product is a tandem on silicon Sourced. What matters is that the company designs its tandem as an extension of the silicon products it sells today. The report on the results of the securities issue filed in July 2026 spells out a step-by-step transition strategy, PERC to TOPCon to perovskite tandem: it will switch its existing PERC cell lines to TOPCon, and then use those TOPCon cells as the tandem's bottom cell. In other words, rather than building a dedicated tandem factory from scratch, the plan is to add a perovskite top-cell process on top of the existing buildings and TOPCon lines at its Jincheon plant in Korea. Where a start-up "competes on perovskites alone", Hanwha Qcells is in the position of using perovskites to protect its strength in silicon volume production.
2. The logo and how the name is written
The Qcells logo is a trademark of the company. We have not recreated it with generated imagery;
the image was taken from the official website and is placed here as img/hanwha_qcells_logo.svg.
A note on names: Hanwha Qcells is not a separately listed company. Its official releases describe it as "Hanwha Solutions Qcells Division (Hanwha Qcells)", the solar division (called the "renewable energy" or "Qcells" division in disclosures) of the Korean listed company Hanwha Solutions Corporation. Hanwha Solutions' largest shareholder is Hanwha Corporation, which held 35.73% of the common shares according to its filing of 3 August 2026. The German R&D site is the subsidiary Hanwha Q CELLS GmbH, and the U.S. factories belong to subsidiaries such as Hanwha Q CELLS USA. "Hanwha", "Hanwha Solutions" and "Qcells" refer to different layers of the group, and this article keeps them apart.
Official site: https://us.qcells.com/| Name | What it is | Relationship to perovskites |
|---|---|---|
| Hanwha Corporation | The core company of the Hanwha Group and the largest shareholder of Hanwha Solutions (35.73% of common shares, 3 August 2026) | A shareholder that put money into the rights offering. Not the entity that carries out tandem R&D |
| Hanwha Solutions Corporation | Listed on the Korea Exchange, with divisions including chemicals (basic materials), solar (renewable energy) and advanced materials | The entity making the statutory disclosures. Tandem investment plans and financing are carried out in its name |
| Hanwha Qcells (Qcells Division) | The solar division of Hanwha Solutions; also used as a brand name | The organisation that develops and will mass-produce tandems. The issuer of the releases |
| Hanwha Q CELLS GmbH | A consolidated subsidiary in Germany (Bitterfeld-Wolfen) | Home of the tandem R&D pilot line, where the 28.6% cell and the certified modules were made |
3. Where the company sits in the perovskite solar landscape
Among the established PV makers, what sets Hanwha Qcells apart is that its volume production sits outside China. According to the report on the results of the securities issue, module capacity at the end of 2025 was 2.8 GW in Korea and 8.6 GW in the U.S., 11.4 GW in total, all in plants outside China Sourced. The same report argues that now, before Chinese companies have ramped up large-scale tandem mass production, is a critical period in which to widen the technology gap, and it sets its sights on demand for high-efficiency products in the U.S. and Europe. For the technical background to tandems, see also our explainers on silicon–perovskite tandems and on conversion efficiency and evaluation metrics.
4. Scale (the solar business as a whole, in brief)
Tandems are still in development and bring in no revenue, so here we note only the size of the company as a whole and of its solar division Sourced.
| Hanwha Solutions (consolidated) | FY2024 (year to Dec 2024) | FY2025 (year to Dec 2025) | First half of 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue (KRW million) | 12,394,024 | 13,333,055 | 8,464,607 |
| Operating profit or loss (KRW million) | (300,238) | (364,759) | 399,144 |
| Renewable energy division revenue (KRW billion, including inter-segment sales) | 7,572.0 | 8,268.3 | 5,575.0 |
| Division operating profit or loss (KRW billion, before consolidation adjustments) | (125.8) | (149.0) | 233.3 |
| R&D expense (whole company, KRW million) | 213,753 | 200,377 | 107,418 |
The figures above are for the whole company and the whole solar division; they do not measure the size of the tandem business. R&D expense is likewise the total for the company, including chemicals and other divisions, and R&D spending on tandems is not disclosed Not yet confirmed. However, the company has disclosed the capital expenditure on tandems by item and by half-year as part of the use of proceeds from the rights offering (chapters 5 and 7), so, unusually for a large company, its tandem investment can be traced in primary sources. The company also says its consolidated net borrowings rose to about KRW 12.6 trillion at the end of 2025, and the rights offering is intended both to repair its finances and to fund growth investment Sourced.
5. Resources committed to perovskites
| Resource | Details | Category |
|---|---|---|
| People (dedicated teams and staff) | More than 400 R&D staff are developing tandems, mainly at Thalheim in Germany and Pangyo in Korea. In addition, the company runs a separate business planning team for tandem commercialisation and a dedicated team for the pilot line and preparation for mass production. The list of officers in the semi-annual report includes a post of head of tandem commercialisation in the manufacturing headquarters of the Qcells Division. In June 2026 a new team to develop solar cells for space was set up within the technology organisation | Sourced |
| Money (pilot line) | Pilot investment first appeared in the 2023 business plan (KRW 144.0 billion planned for 2023 to 2025). Cumulative investment to the end of 2025 was KRW 138.2 billion. A further KRW 96.3 billion from the rights offering in 2026 to 2028 will convert the line to the format of the mass-produced product, with about KRW 11.2 billion more from internal funds by 2029 | Sourced |
| Money (GW-scale mass-production line) | KRW 399.4 billion from the rights offering (second half of 2026 to 2028) and KRW 131.6 billion from internal funds in 2029, for a total of KRW 531.0 billion. Covers the top-cell (perovskite), bottom-cell (TOPCon) and module processes | Sourced |
| Money (bottom-cell preparation) | KRW 412.0 billion (from the rights offering) to convert the PERC cell lines at the Jincheon plant to TOPCon. In the near term these will make high-efficiency cells for the U.S. factories; later they will supply tandem bottom cells | Sourced |
| Investments in, acquisitions of and joint ventures with other companies | Neither the semi-annual report, the report on the securities issue nor the official releases mention any investment, acquisition or joint venture involving perovskite-related companies | Could not be confirmed |
| Universities and research institutes | Co-develops small-area tandem cells with Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB). Efficiency measured by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab; certification by TÜV Rheinland | Sourced |
| Public funding | The German R&D site receives funding from Germany's federal economics ministry (written as BMWK in the 2024 release and BMWE in the 2026 release), the state of Saxony-Anhalt, the EU (the flagship project PEPPERONI) and the Swiss government, among others. The Pangyo research centre has been designated a research institution for Korean national projects. As of the first half of 2026, 17 or more research and national projects, including government projects and external collaborations, were under way | Sourced |
| Patents | About 400 or more tandem-related patent applications filed or in preparation (company statement). Patents registered in the first half of 2026 include ones for a perovskite pellet and for a perovskite solar cell and a tandem solar cell including it | Sourced |
Adding up the amounts that appear in the primary sources, the pilot line comes to KRW 138.2 billion + KRW 96.3 billion + about KRW 11.2 billion = about KRW 245.7 billion (2023 to 2029), and the GW-scale mass-production line to KRW 531.0 billion (2026 to 2029), for a combined about KRW 776.7 billion Our calculation. Adding the KRW 412.0 billion TOPCon conversion, which will also provide tandem bottom cells, gives about KRW 1.19 trillion Our calculation. But the TOPCon conversion is, for now, also an investment in silicon cells for the U.S. factories, so counting all of it as "perovskite investment" would overstate the figure. R&D spending (staff costs and so on) is not included in these totals either.
The May 2023 release described the pilot-line investment as "$100 million". Because the won-denominated plan (KRW 144.0 billion for 2023 to 2025) and the dollar figure announced may differ in exchange rate and scope, we have not converted one into the other to compare them.
6. Track record so far
| When | What happened | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | R&D begins on tandems combining a perovskite top cell with the company's own silicon bottom cell (December 2024 release) | The German R&D site is the starting point |
| 2019 | A dedicated research centre set up in Pangyo, Korea (same release). The report on the securities issue says the first tandem research began in 2019 | A research base forms on the Korean side |
| March 2023 | Small-area (1 cm²) tandem cell at 29.3%, NREL-certified (company-reported). Co-development with HZB reaches 29.9% (NREL-certified, company-reported). The May 2023 English release, however, attributes the 29.3% to the joint work with HZB, so the sources differ | Research-cell results. No record under the Qcells name can be found in NLR's public data table |
| May 2023 | Announces a US$100 million tandem pilot line at the Jincheon plant, due to be operational by late 2024, with the aim "to commercialize tandem cells by 2026" | The first investment aimed at volume production |
| 2023 | Development of large-area (practical-size) tandems begins (December 2024 release) | A shift away from racing for small-area records |
| 2024 | "Construction of tandem pilot equipment" listed among R&D achievements (earlier periods in the semi-annual report) | The pilot line is being built |
| December 2024 | 28.6% over the full area of an M10-size cell (330.56 cm²). The company says Fraunhofer ISE CalLab independently confirmed it. Made on the German R&D pilot line using only processes suitable for mass production | The company calls it "world record efficiency for commercially scalable perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell" |
| 2025 | "Trial production on the tandem pilot equipment" listed among R&D achievements. Cumulative pilot investment reaches KRW 138.2 billion | Into the trial-production stage |
| May 2025 | Tandem modules pass the main accelerated stress tests of IEC 61215-2 and UL 61215-2 (UV 15 kWh/m², 200 thermal cycles, 10 humidity-freeze cycles, 1,000 hours of damp heat). TÜV Rheinland independently confirmed that the tests were carried out to the standard | The first durability hurdle |
| March 2026 | Hanwha Solutions' board approves a KRW 2.4 trillion rights offering, announcing that KRW 900 billion will go to tandem mass-production lines and high-efficiency products | A decision to fund tandem investment with outside money |
| April to July 2026 | After a request from the Financial Supervisory Service to correct the filing and other steps, the offering is scaled down. In the end it raises 53 million shares × KRW 22,100 = KRW 1.1713 trillion (report on the results of the securities issue, 30 July 2026): KRW 907.7 billion for facilities and KRW 263.6 billion for debt repayment | The debt-repayment portion was cut, while facilities funding, at KRW 907.7 billion, stayed close to the original KRW 900 billion |
| June 2026 | A new team for space solar cells is set up. Satellite tandems co-developed with Hanwha Systems | Moving into space applications |
| July 2026 | Announces that TÜV Rheinland has certified its tandem modules as meeting IEC and UL 61215 and IEC and UL 61730. The company calls itself "the first company" to achieve this | Both design qualification and safety |
| September 2026 | Announces that its tandem cells are due to fly on a lunar lander in SSTEF-1, a lunar demonstration mission led by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) with NASA | Data from a combined environment that cannot be reproduced on Earth |
7. Plans ahead
Modules: early 2029GW-scale volume production to be in place during 2029
The location is its plant in Korea. According to the report on the securities issue, the bottom cells will come from the TOPCon lines being converted at Jincheon, and the top-cell plant and the tandem module plant will make the fullest possible use of existing buildings. The company says it is considering first building an integrated set-up in Korea that includes modules, then, once the volume equipment and process recipes are settled, rolling out in stages to its U.S. factories Sourced. It expects tandem mass production to improve profitability by about KRW 113 billion a year through higher selling prices from higher power output (company outlook) Not yet confirmed.
None of the following appears in the primary sources Not yet confirmed.
Target efficiency and power for mass-produced tandem modules / the exact GW figure for initial capacity (described only as GW-scale) / the selling price and first customers of tandem products / the timing and scale of tandem production in the U.S. (described only as under consideration) / the efficiency and power of the modules certified in July 2026 / R&D spending on tandems. Press reports of the "Qcells to mass-produce tandems in year X" kind often give years that differ from the disclosures, and this article does not use them.
8. What the company is aiming for in perovskite solar cells
This section includes things the company does not say directly. We set them out as inferences within what the primary sources support, with the evidence for each.
| What the evidence suggests | Primary information it rests on | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Tandems are a way out of price competition with Chinese makers | The report on the securities issue sets side by side the pressure the company faces from low-priced Chinese competition and the view that the period before Chinese makers ramp up tandem mass production is the time to widen the technology gap | Sourced |
| The target market is demand for high-efficiency products in the U.S. and Europe | The same report states plainly that, with energy independence and security in focus, the company aims to capture U.S. and European demand for high efficiency ahead of others | Sourced |
| The first tandems may take the form of Korean-made cells assembled into modules in the U.S. | The same report says it is considering both making modules in the U.S. from Korean-made cells and expanding tandem capacity within the U.S. The U.S. factories are currently running at full output | Inference |
| It wants to make space an early niche market | The business overview in the semi-annual report says that developing perovskite-based tandem cells that can also be used in the space environment is being pursued as a major mission project. Add the new space team of June 2026, the co-development with Hanwha Systems and the lunar demonstration | Inference |
| Commercialisation is about three years behind the original plan | In May 2023 the goal was commercialisation by 2026; the July 2026 disclosure gives cell mass production in November 2028 and module mass production in early 2029 | Our calculation |
The report on the securities issue itself includes an estimate that each month's delay in tandem mass production would cut EBITDA by about US$9 million (about KRW 13 billion) Sourced. In its risk section, the same report also says that it is difficult at this point to state a definite timetable for mass production and that some dates may be adjusted Sourced. Given how "commercialisation by 2026" in 2023 has moved to 2029, the company is being candid with investors about the uncertainty in its mass-production schedule, yet it has not reduced the tandem facilities funding in the use of proceeds (KRW 96.3 billion for the pilot and KRW 399.4 billion for mass production). Because it cut the debt-repayment portion but kept the tandem money, we read tandems as having become a core bet the company will not walk away from, even if it runs late Not yet confirmed.
9. Partnership map
10. Technology, products and services
As of September 2026, tandems are not yet on sale. The current product range consists of silicon cells and modules, energy storage systems, and power plant development and construction. What has been published about the tandem technology is as follows Sourced.
| Item | What the disclosures and releases say |
|---|---|
| Structure | Two-terminal. An in-house perovskite top cell on a silicon bottom cell using the company's own Q.ANTUM technology (releases from 2024 to 2026). For mass production, the plan is to use TOPCon as the bottom cell (July 2026 disclosure) |
| Top-cell layer stack | On the bottom cell, charge transport layers (ETL / HTL), an interface stabilisation layer, the perovskite absorber and a transparent electrode (TCO) are stacked in turn, with the front electrode formed last (as described in the report on the securities issue) |
| Size | The full area of an M10 standard industrial wafer (about 330.56 cm²), a size that can go into existing modules |
| Process | The company says both the 28.6% cell and the certified modules were made on the German R&D pilot line using only mass-production processes |
| Reliability testing | Design qualification tests under IEC 61215-2:2021 and UL 61215-2:2021, and safety tests under IEC 61730-2:2023 and UL 61730-2:2022. Power measured in line with IEC TS 60904-1-1 for multi-junction modules |
| Examples of registered patents (first half of 2026) | A perovskite pellet (apparent density of 3 to 5.5 g/cm³), and a perovskite solar cell and tandem solar cell including it (with an electron transport layer made of oxides of two metals whose composition ratio changes through its thickness) |
The patent registered in March 2026 covers perovskite pellets themselves, with an apparent density of 3 to 5.5 g/cm³ Sourced. Perovskite films are made in two broad ways: by coating a solution, or by heating the raw materials in a vacuum so that they evaporate and deposit (evaporation). Pellets of pressed powder are the form typically used as source material (targets) for evaporation or sputtering. In solution coating, the raw materials are supplied as a solution, so there should be little need to bring pellet density within the scope of a patent. From this we infer that the company may be looking at a dry (vacuum) process in order to deposit uniformly on the textured silicon surface of an M10 cell Not yet confirmed. The company has not published its deposition method, however, and this is our own inference.
The other patent, an "electron transport layer whose composition ratio changes through its thickness", is a way of engineering the interface between the perovskite and the electrode. The damp heat (1,000 hours) and thermal cycling (200 cycles) tests that the company announced it passed in 2025 and 2026 are precisely the tests that probe degradation and delamination at such interfaces. See also our explainers on encapsulation and barrier layers and on solution coating.
11. The risks this company carries
| Risk | Details | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Further delay to the mass-production schedule | From "commercialisation by 2026" in 2023 to cell mass production in November 2028 and module mass production in 2029. The company itself discloses that it is difficult to state a definite timetable for mass production | Sourced |
| The financial cost of delay | The company estimates that each month's delay in tandem mass production would cut EBITDA by about US$9 million (about KRW 13 billion) | Sourced |
| Financial headroom | Consolidated net borrowings of about KRW 12.6 trillion at the end of 2025. The rights offering was scaled down from the original KRW 2.4 trillion, and KRW 1.1713 trillion was actually raised. The solar division made operating losses in 2024 and 2025 (and a profit in the first half of 2026) | Sourced |
| Technology and reliability | Because the materials and structure are new, the company says verification of large-area uniformity, initial yield, long-term durability and power reliability could take longer | Sourced |
| Chinese rivals getting ahead | In NLR's efficiency data table, the latest perovskite/silicon research-cell records are held by LONGi (35.2% measured in February 2026, among others). If Chinese makers also get to volume production first, the company would miss what it calls the period to widen the gap | Inference |
| How the small-area records look | The small-area 29.3% and 29.9% (NREL-certified) figures the company cites cannot be found under the Qcells name in NLR's public data table. The figures traceable in public third-party records are the large-area 28.6% (CalLab) and the certifications | Sourced |
| Customer acceptance | The company says commercialisation would be delayed if customer evaluation, certification and field demonstration take longer than expected | Sourced |
12. Glossary
- Tandem (two-terminal)
- A solar cell with two light-absorbing layers stacked and connected electrically in series. The perovskite on top takes the shorter wavelengths and the silicon underneath the longer ones.
- PERC / TOPCon
- Both are crystalline silicon cell structures. TOPCon has an ultra-thin oxide layer and a polycrystalline silicon layer on the rear and is more efficient than PERC.
- M10
- An industrial silicon wafer format about 182 mm on a side, more than 300 times the area of a 1 cm² research cell.
- IEC / UL 61215
- The international and U.S. standards for design qualification (durability) of PV modules, including tests such as thermal cycling and damp heat.
- IEC / UL 61730
- Standards for the safety of PV modules.
- DART
- The electronic disclosure system of Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, where listed companies' business reports and share-issue documents are published.
- Report on the results of a securities issue
- A statutory filing in which a Korean company that has completed a share issue reports the amount actually raised and how the money will be used.
- EBITDA
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation; a measure of earning power in capital-intensive businesses.
13. References
- Hanwha Solutions Semi-annual report for the period ended June 2026 (filed with DART on 14 August 2026; in Korean). Business overview (the passage on tandems for space), R&D achievements (building the tandem pilot equipment and trial production), R&D expense, registered patents, summary and segment financial information, the largest shareholder's holding, the list of officers (head of tandem commercialisation), and consolidated subsidiaries. https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260814003076
- Hanwha Solutions Report on the results of the securities issue (filed with DART on 30 July 2026; in Korean). Amount raised (KRW 1.1713 trillion), use of proceeds (tandem pilot KRW 96.3 billion, GW-scale mass production KRW 399.4 billion, TOPCon conversion KRW 412.0 billion), history of pilot investment, mass-production schedule, module capacity, R&D staff, projects and patent count, efficiency and certification record, EBITDA impact of delay, net borrowings, the PERC to TOPCon to tandem transition strategy, and the company's view of the market. https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366
- Hanwha Solutions Report of changes in shareholdings of the largest shareholder and related parties (filed with DART on 3 August 2026; in Korean). Hanwha Corporation's holding after the rights offering (80,357,854 common shares, 35.73%). https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260803800411
- Hanwha Solutions Press release, "Hanwha Solutions Announces Rights Offering to Strengthen Financial Soundness and Invest in Future Growth" (26 March 2026). Board approval of a KRW 2.4 trillion rights offering and the original plan to put KRW 900 billion into tandem mass-production lines and high-efficiency products. https://www.hanwhasolutions.com/en/cs/news/view?idx=1092
- Qcells Press release, "Qcells invests $100 million in pilot line for perovskite tandem cells and modules in Korea" (17 May 2023). The Jincheon pilot line, the aims of operation by late 2024 and commercialisation by 2026, PEPPERONI, and 29.3% (verified by NREL, according to the company). https://www.q-cells.eu/press-releases/detail?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=304&cHash=88d0c1a4da9e21b924a66b3ea027929a
- Hanwha Press release, "Hanwha Qcells achieves world record efficiency for commercially scalable perovskite-silicon tandem solar cell" (19 December 2024). 28.6% over the full area of an M10 cell, confirmation by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab, start of work in 2016 and the Pangyo research centre in 2019, public funding (BMWK, Saxony-Anhalt, the EU, and the Dutch and Swiss governments), and the self-description "Hanwha Solutions Qcells Division". https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/hanwha-qcells-achieves-world-record-efficiency-for-commercially-scalable-perovskite-silicon-tandem-solar-cell.do
- Hanwha Press release, "Hanwha Qcells achieves key tandem solar module stability milestone" (23 May 2025). Passing the accelerated tests of IEC and UL 61215-2 and their conditions, confirmation by TÜV Rheinland, and the two-terminal structure. https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/hanwha-qcells-achieves-key-tandem-solar-module-stability-milestone.do
- Qcells Press release, "Qcells Becomes the First Company to Achieve UL and IEC Certification by TÜV Rheinland on Next Generation Solar Technology" (16 July 2026). Certification to IEC and UL 61215 and IEC and UL 61730, IEC TS 60904-1-1, the pilot line where the modules were made, and public funding (BMWE, Saxony-Anhalt, the EU, the Swiss government and the Korean government). https://us.qcells.com/blog/qcells-becomes-the-first-company-to-achieve-ul-and-iec-certification-by-tuv-rheinland-on-next-generation-solar-technology/
- Hanwha Feature story, "What a lunar mission could teach us about the future of solar" (7 September 2026). The SSTEF-1 lunar demonstration (GTRI and NASA), co-development of satellite tandems with Hanwha Systems, and the space team set up in June 2026. https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/feature-stories/what-a-lunar-mission-could-teach-us-about-the-future-of-solar.do
- Qcells Official website (source of the logo image). https://us.qcells.com/
- National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR, formerly NREL) Best Research-Cell Efficiency data table (names attached to perovskite/silicon records: no record under the Qcells name, and the latest records under LONGi's name). https://www.nlr.gov/docs/libraries/pv/cell-efficiency-data-table.xlsx
14. Claim-to-source audit
| Claim in the article | Category | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Hanwha Qcells is a division of Hanwha Solutions (the Qcells Division) | Sourced | Reference 6 https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/hanwha-qcells-achieves-world-record-efficiency-for-commercially-scalable-perovskite-silicon-tandem-solar-cell.do |
| Hanwha Corporation is the largest shareholder, holding 35.73% of common shares after the rights offering | Sourced | Reference 3 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260803800411 |
| Consolidated revenue and operating profit or loss, renewable energy division revenue and operating profit or loss, company-wide R&D expense, and the German subsidiary Hanwha Q CELLS GmbH | Sourced | Reference 1 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260814003076 |
| The post of head of tandem commercialisation, R&D achievements (building pilot equipment and trial production), the passage on tandems for space, and patents registered in the first half of 2026 | Sourced | Reference 1 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260814003076 |
| Rights offering proceeds of KRW 1.1713 trillion (53 million shares × KRW 22,100) and use of proceeds (pilot KRW 96.3 billion, GW-scale mass production KRW 399.4 billion, TOPCon conversion KRW 412.0 billion, debt repayment KRW 263.6 billion) | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| History of pilot investment (KRW 144.0 billion planned, KRW 138.2 billion cumulative to 2025, about KRW 11.2 billion by 2029) and KRW 531.0 billion in total for the GW-scale line | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Mass-production schedule (design in January to March 2027, cell mass production in November 2028, module mass production in early 2029), production at the Korean plant, and a possible U.S. roll-out under consideration | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| More than 400 R&D staff, 17 or more research and national projects, about 400 patents, and dedicated teams | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Module capacity of 11.4 GW (end of 2025) rising to 13.5 GW (end of 2029, expected), and its aim at U.S. and European demand for high efficiency | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Net borrowings of about KRW 12.6 trillion, an EBITDA reduction of about US$9 million per month of delay, the expected profitability improvement of about KRW 113 billion a year, and the uncertainty over mass-production timing | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Small-area 29.3% (March 2023, NREL-certified) and 29.9% from co-development with HZB (company-reported) | Sourced | Reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Board approval of a KRW 2.4 trillion rights offering and the original KRW 900 billion plan (26 March 2026) | Sourced | Reference 4 https://www.hanwhasolutions.com/en/cs/news/view?idx=1092 |
| The May 2023 announcement of a US$100 million pilot line and the aim of commercialisation by 2026 | Sourced | Reference 5 https://www.q-cells.eu/press-releases/detail?tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=304&cHash=88d0c1a4da9e21b924a66b3ea027929a |
| 28.6% over the full area of an M10 cell confirmed by Fraunhofer ISE CalLab, start of research in 2016, the Pangyo research centre in 2019, start of large-area development in 2023, and public funding | Sourced | Reference 6 https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/hanwha-qcells-achieves-world-record-efficiency-for-commercially-scalable-perovskite-silicon-tandem-solar-cell.do |
| Passing the accelerated tests in May 2025, the test conditions, and confirmation by TÜV Rheinland | Sourced | Reference 7 https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/press-releases/hanwha-qcells-achieves-key-tandem-solar-module-stability-milestone.do |
| IEC and UL 61215 / 61730 certification in July 2026, and the pilot line where the modules were made | Sourced | Reference 8 https://us.qcells.com/blog/qcells-becomes-the-first-company-to-achieve-ul-and-iec-certification-by-tuv-rheinland-on-next-generation-solar-technology/ |
| The SSTEF-1 lunar demonstration, co-development of satellite tandems with Hanwha Systems, and the space team set up in June 2026 | Sourced | Reference 9 https://www.hanwha.com/newsroom/news/feature-stories/what-a-lunar-mission-could-teach-us-about-the-future-of-solar.do |
| No record under the Qcells name in NLR's data table; the latest research-cell records held by LONGi | Sourced | Reference 11 https://www.nlr.gov/docs/libraries/pv/cell-efficiency-data-table.xlsx |
| KRW 495.7 billion of rights-issue funds for tandems, about KRW 245.7 billion in total for the pilot, about KRW 776.7 billion for pilot and mass production combined, and about KRW 1.19 trillion including TOPCon | Our calculation | This article's sum of the amounts in reference 2 https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Commercialisation is about three years behind the original plan | Our calculation | This article's comparison of "by 2026" in reference 5 with module mass production in early 2029 in reference 2 |
| The three types of perovskite solar company (established PV makers / perovskite start-ups / materials and electronics firms) | Our calculation | This article's own classification. Examples drawn from the companies covered in this series |
| R&D spending on tandems, target efficiency and power of mass-produced products, the exact GW figure for initial capacity, price, first customers and timing of U.S. production | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in references 1 and 2. Figures from press reports are not used https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260730000366 |
| Investments in, acquisitions of or joint ventures with perovskite-related companies | Not yet confirmed | Not stated in references 1 and 2. This article does not conclude that none exist either https://dart.fss.or.kr/dsaf001/main.do?rcpNo=20260814003076 |
| The readings that Korean-made cells assembled into modules in the U.S. are in view, and that space is meant to be an early niche market | Inference | This article's interpretation of statements in references 1, 2 and 9 |
| The reading that tandems have become a core bet the company will not walk away from, even if late | Inference | This article's interpretation of the fact that, in reference 2, the debt-repayment portion was cut while the tandem funding was kept |
| The reading, from the pellet patent, that a dry (vacuum) deposition process may be under consideration | Inference | This article's commentary based on the patent described in reference 1 and general knowledge of perovskite deposition |
| The risk that Chinese rivals getting ahead could cost the company its window to widen the gap | Inference | This article's interpretation of references 2 and 11 |
Last updated 25 September 2026 / Troy Technical
The figures in this article are based on the statutory filings Hanwha Solutions has made on DART, the electronic disclosure system of Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, official releases from the company and from Qcells and Hanwha, and NLR's efficiency data. No research-firm estimates or press-based figures have been used. Market data from research firms that the company quotes in its filings (national shares of production capacity, company rankings and the like) have not been used either. Passages marked "Inference" are this article's interpretation of the primary sources, not statements made by the company.